Faces In The Sky
by Clare
Summary: A collection of vignettes in which the victors from most of the seventy-five Hunger Games watch as the faces of the tributes who fell at the Cornucopia appear in the sky.
1. The First Games

**The First Games**

_Cynthia: District 7_

Perched halfway up a tree, Cynthia looked through the branches as the anthem began. She could see the Capitol seal in the sky and wondered what it meant. Was it a reminder to the tributes - those who were still alive, at least - that the Capitol was watching them? That they were in this arena because their parents had dared to rebel against Panem's rulers? However, she did not have long to think about it before the faces started to appear.

She saw the boy from District 3, whom she had met briefly during training, just long enough to learn that his name was Edison. Next came the girls from Districts 5 and 6, though she did not know their names. She knew the name of the boy who appeared immediately after, though; it was her own district partner, Ralph. He was followed by both tributes from 8, the girl from 9 and both from 11. Then, the seal returned as the anthem ended.

What did it all mean? The anthem, the seal, the faces in the sky? Cynthia thought back to the events of this morning, when she and twenty-three other tributes had arrived in the arena to compete in the First Hunger Games. She thought of the bloody battle which had taken place at a giant golden horn called the Cornucopia, a battle she had barely escaped before the boy from District 2 speared her in the back. But Ralph had not been so lucky; he had fallen when the District 1 girl (Dazzle or some stupid name like that) stabbed him in the chest.

Then, it dawned on her. Ralph was dead and she had just seen his face in the sky. So that meant the other tributes she had seen in the sky must be dead too. The nine cannon shots she had heard earlier in the day must have been to let the remaining tributes know how many had died. These were the first tributes to perish in the Capitol's sadistic Games, but they would not be the last.


	2. The Second Games

**The Second Games**

_Ursula: District 2_

Ursula had no time for weaklings. Take them out as quickly as possible - that was her motto. And, in the battle for supplies earlier in the day, she had done just that. Run the twelve-year-old girl who was District 8's female tribute through with a sword, split the skull of the boy from District 10 and sent the girl from District 12 into the path of Wonder's arrows. Wonder was the female tribute from District 1, a talented archer and a useful ally - for now.

By the time the fighting was over, eleven tributes lay dead, two more than last year. Now, as night fell, the faces of those eleven tributes were being projected into the sky over the marshland that was this year's arena. Ursula peered through a clump of reeds and watched, ticking them off on her fingers one by one.

First came both tributes from District 3, a fifteen-year-old girl with short dark hair and a bespectacled boy of thirteen. Then, the girl from District 5 appeared, followed by the boys from 6 and 7. They were followed in turn by both tributes from District 8; Ursula saw the twelve-year-old she had impaled earlier, but her only thought was that a kid like that would not have lasted long anyway. The boy from District 9 was next, then both tributes from 10. Last of all, by which time Ursula had run out of fingers, came the girl from District 12, the one whom Wonder had shot.

As the seal faded away, Ursula felt no regret about the tributes who had died. They had all been weaklings and, as far as she was concerned, the best thing to do was to eliminate them. Get rid of those who were incapable of putting up a decent fight so that, once the Games got going, the audience would see some real action. And Ursula was determined to give them some; the tributes she had killed at the Cornucopia were just the start.


	3. The Third Games

_NOTE: Ethan also appears (as an adult) in my fic "There Can Be Only One Winner"._

**The Third Games**

_Ethan: District 9_

Ethan sat on the sand, pulling the cloak that was part of this year's tribute outfit around his shoulders. He had not known what purpose the cloak was meant to serve, especially when he emerged from the Launch Room and found himself in a burning hot desert. He had not been aware of the fact that desert temperatures cooled considerably at night.

The national anthem was playing and, up in the sky, he could see the Capitol seal. That meant the faces of those who had died at the Cornucopia were about to appear one by one. Eight of them this year, though Ethan hoped Iris (his partner from District 9) would not be among them. She was only just twelve; her birthday had fallen less than a week before the reaping.

Now, he could see the faces in the sky, the faces of the dead. First the girl from District 4 - during training, he had heard someone call her Cowrie, though he did not know what it meant. But, since District 4 specialised in fishing, he guessed it must be something to do with the sea. The two tributes from District 5 were next, then the girl from 7. Then, to his relief, Districts 8 and 9 were skipped and the boy from 10 appeared, followed by the girl from 11 and both from 12.

As the seal faded, Ethan couldn't help feeling relieved that Iris was alive, at least for the time being. He would never kill a twelve-year-old unless he absolutely had to, but there were tributes who had no such qualms. And then there was the question of how long he and the others could last in this arid environment. He had managed to obtain water at the Cornucopia, but not everyone would have been as lucky. And that meant deaths from dehydration were inevitable, unless someone knew how to find water where there appeared to be none. In the desert arena, water was more precious than the diamonds manufactured in District 1.


	4. The Fourth Games

**The Fourth Games**

_Sonia: District 6_

Sonia kept a tight hold on the knife she had obtained earlier in the day, the knife which could be the difference between life and death. The fighting at the Cornucopia had been particularly brutal this year and the ground had been stained with blood at the end of it. And, as she fled into the trees, she had heard the cannon fire twelve times, which meant half the tributes were already dead.

Now, as night fell over the arena, she looked up at the sky as the Capitol seal appeared, wondering which twelve tributes would follow. When she had made her escape from the Cornucopia, the fighting had been so fierce that it was difficult to tell individual tributes apart. And their identical outfits (brown-and-white checked shirts, dark blue trousers and sturdy brown boots) didn't help. The only way she would know who had died and who had survived was to watch the sky and see who appeared.

This year, the first tribute whose face was projected into the sky was the female from District 3, a rather shy girl called Connie who had hardly spoken a word at her interview the night before. Next came the male tribute from District 5, followed by both from District 7, then the girl from 8. The pair from District 9, who had been boyfriend and girlfriend, were next, united in death. Sonia watched as both tributes from District 10 appeared, then the boy from 11 and both from 12. The anthem ended and the seal faded away, leaving Sonia alone with her thoughts.

A dozen tributes dead already. Four districts out of the running on the first day. And Sonia had been directly responsible for one of those deaths; while making her escape, she had found her path blocked by the girl from District 7 and, acting in the heat of the moment, slit her throat. The knife now clutched in Sonia's hand was still stained with blood.


	5. The Fifth Games

**The Fifth Games**

_Ermine: District 1_

The Fifth Hunger Games were the first to feature what would later come to be known as a Career pack, the tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 joining forces to hunt down their opponents. It had been Ermine's idea and, if she said so herself, it had been pretty effective. Between them, the six of them had killed seven of the ten tributes who had died at the Cornucopia.

Now, as she and the others made camp, Ermine looked up at the sky as the Capitol seal appeared. And that, she knew from watching the four previous Hunger Games, meant the faces of the dead tributes would soon be in the sky. In the chaos of the battle, it had been hard to keep track of who had killed whom, but she distinctly remembered thrusting her sword into the belly of a boy who couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen. She did not know which district he was from, but that hardly mattered; she would find out in a moment, anyway.

She saw the face of the boy from District 3, then the girl from 6, then both tributes from 7. The girls from Districts 8 and 9 were next, followed by the boy from 10. Ermine recognised the latter immediately; it was the kid she had killed, not that she was about to let it bother her. She meant to be just as ruthless as the creature whose white winter fur she had been named after. Consequently, no emotion registered on her face as she watched the faces of the last three dead tributes - both from 11 and the boy from 12 - appear in the sky.

As the seal faded, she began to gather her allies around her. There were still eight tributes out there somewhere, eight tributes to be hunted down and killed. When they were gone, she would have to kill her own allies, but, as with the District 10 boy, that didn't bother her. She had not come here to make friends, she had come here to kill.


	6. The Sixth Games

**The Sixth Games**

_Flint: District 2_

District 2 already had a reputation for producing tough tributes. In all but one of the first five Hunger Games, they had been the last district to have both their tributes still alive and the final battles of three Games had involved a tribute from 2. They had been raised with a military mindset even before the Dark Days; their young people were eager to volunteer for the Games and Flint was no exception.

Flint felt he could be justly proud of himself following the bloodbath, as people had started calling the battle which took place at the Cornucopia each year. For the second year in a row, ten tributes had died, their deaths announced by ten cannon blasts. He had personally killed four of them with the knife he now held in his hand. And, for good measure, he had kicked one of his victims as the latter lay dying.

He looked up at the sky as the first death recap of the Sixth Games began. The first face he saw was that of the boy from District 3, one of those he had personally killed; he used his knife to score a mark in a piece of wood as a reminder. The boy from District 5 followed, then both tributes from 6, then the boy from 7. Next came the girl from District 8, a somewhat airheaded fifteen-year-old called Lacey; Flint had dispatched her without much difficulty. Another notch went on his piece of wood, then another as the boy from District 9 (Flint's third victim and the one he had kicked) appeared above the arena, followed by the girl from 10. Finally, both from 11 - Flint marked his wood a fourth time as the boy appeared - and the recap was over.

Flint ran his fingers over the notches he had cut in the wood. Four notches, four tributes dead at his hands - and they were just the start. Before these Games were through, he meant to add a few more notches to his personal tally of kills.


	7. The Seventh Games

**The Seventh Games**

_Diode: District 3_

The arena this year took the form of a deserted village, with the Cornucopia in the middle of the square. Houses surrounded the square, but all of them were booby-trapped except one - and that had been claimed by the tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4. Earlier in the day, Diode had narrowly avoided being hit by a laser beam fired at him from one of the houses.

However, coming from District 3, he knew how to disable the sensors which triggered the trap, allowing him to enter the house safely. He peered through a crack in the curtains, safe in the knowledge that no-one would think of looking for him in here. The other tributes must know by now that most of the houses were dangerous and that meant he should be safe for a few hours. But no-one was entirely safe in the arena and, as if to prove it, the Capitol seal appeared in the sky as the death recap began.

This year, eight tributes had died in the bloodbath; Diode had heard the cannon blasts while he was disabling the laser trap. And now their faces were appearing in the sky. First the boy from District 6, which meant everyone from the first five districts had survived. Next came the girl from District 7, both from 8, the girl from 9 . . . That made five, with three more to go. But who were they? However, Diode did not have to wait long before the girl from District 10 appeared in the sky, closely followed by the boys from 11 and 12. Then it was all over for another night.

Had Diode not chosen to flee from the Cornucopia, he might well be dead too. Instead, he was alive and he had found the laser gun hidden in the wall. Perhaps, with his skills, he would be able to turn it into a weapon to use against his fellow tributes. But not right away; he would bide his time, wait until only a few tributes remained, then use the laser gun to eliminate his opponents.


	8. The Eighth Games

**The Eighth Games**

_Drusilla: District 2_

Drusilla had been nine years old when the Hunger Games began and she had watched avidly, envying the boys and girls who got to fight for their districts' honour. From the moment she reached reaping age, she had longed to be chosen. And, when she was thirteen, her name had been drawn from the ball, though a seventeen-year-old called Slate had volunteered in her place.

This year, it was Drusilla who had volunteered, knowing she had only two more years before she was too old for the Games. She had a typical District 2 attitude: determined, fearless, willing to do whatever it took to win. To that end, when it came to the bloodbath at the Cornucopia, she had thrown herself into the thick of things. At least one tribute had died at the point of her spear, with nine falling in total. Then, once the survivors had fled into the hills surrounding the Cornucopia, she and her allies from Districts 1, 2 and 4 had grouped together and set out to hunt down the other tributes.

Now, as the nightly death recap began, she and the others stopped to watch the sky to see who had died, though they were mostly confirming what they already knew. Drusilla saw the boy from District 3, who had been shot in the back as he tried to escape. Next came the girls from Districts 5, 6 and 7, followed by the boy from 8. Drusilla watched without emotion as the girl from District 9, the tribute she had speared, was projected into the sky. She saw the tributes from District 11, before the recap ended with the boy from 12.

Drusilla had no qualms about the nine dead tributes; as far as she was concerned, they were not worth bothering about. She was going to win no matter what it took, even if she had to kill her own district partner, Ulysses. Her thoughts could easily be summed up in five words: nine down, fourteen to go.


	9. The Ninth Games

**The Ninth Games**

_Gild: District 1_

From the time the Hunger Games began, Districts 1, 2 and 4 had been training their children for the arena. Officially, they weren't supposed to, but the three districts had always had the Capitol's favour, so no-one objected. And, by the Ninth Games, tributes were beginning to emerge who had trained for years at special combat schools - tributes like Gild.

Gild had been trained to handle all manner of weapons, but he favoured the sword. And, when it came to the bloodbath that year, he had grabbed the sharpest sword in the Cornucopia and used it to devastating effect. The other tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 were just as deadly with their weapons and, before long, eleven tributes had fallen. He had personally killed the boy from District 6 and the girl from District 8, cutting them down as they attempted to flee. He'd tried to kill the girl from 10 as well, but she'd managed to escape, though Gild doubted she would last long with the wound he'd given her.

Now, as night fell, Gild looked up at the sky as the faces of those he and his allies had killed appeared. He saw the boy from District 3, followed by both from 5, then the boy from 6. The pair from District 7 appeared next; District 8 had lost both their tributes as well. The girl from District 9 followed, then the boy from 11 and the girl from 12. Then, with no more dead tributes to show, the Capitol seal returned and the anthem ended.

Gild knew District 1 tributes were perceived as lacking the fighting prowess of their counterparts from Districts 2 and, to a lesser extent, 4. And the fact that their names (often inspired by jewels and other precious things) sounded frivolous to people from the other districts didn't help. But, now that the whole of Panem had seen him in action, he hoped they might start taking tributes from District 1 more seriously.


	10. The Tenth Games

**The Tenth Games**

_Holly: District 10_

While waiting to be launched into the arena, Holly had found herself thinking that this was what it must be like to be an animal waiting for slaughter. Or at least it would be if the animals raised in District 10 knew in advance what was going to happen to them. Unlike those animals, however, she knew why she was here; she had not gone to the Launch Room (or Stockyard as it was known in 10) like the proverbial lamb to the slaughter.

She had survived the initial bloodbath, but her district partner, a freckle-faced twelve-year-old called Brandon, had not been so lucky. The girl from District 1 had killed him before he could get clear. Holly (armed with a spear) had killed the girl in retaliation, then had to flee before her victim's district partner could target her. In total, ten tributes had died in the bloodbath, their deaths announced by the ten cannon shots which sounded as soon as the fighting was over.

Now, as night fell, Holly watched as the faces of the dead tributes appeared in the sky. She felt a strange sense of detachment as she saw the girl from District 1, her first kill. Next came both tributes from District 3, the boys from 5 and 6, both from 8, the girl from 9 . . . Then Brandon was in the sky, though Holly saw him through a blur of tears; he had been so young. Finally, the recap ended with the girl from District 11.

As the Capitol seal faded, Holly knew she would have to fight to stay alive, not just for her sake but for Brandon's as well. The remaining tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 must have already assembled their by now customary pack and would be on the hunt for their opponents. Still, since Holly was from District 10, part of her education involved techniques for slaughtering animals; all she had to do was adapt those techniques for use on humans.


	11. The Eleventh Games

**The Eleventh Games**

_Mags: District 4_

The arena seemed to have been designed with District 4 tributes in mind. The Cornucopia stood on a sandy beach, with salt water to the south and sand dunes, beyond which lay an area of scrubland, to the north. As she stood on her plate waiting for the countdown to end, Mags looked at Jake, her district partner and ally. This year, for the first time since the Fifth Games, the tributes from District 4 were not teamed up with the tributes from 1 and 2.

In the wake of the bloodbath, seven tributes lay dead on the sand. Most of the survivors headed inland, but Mags and Jake simply moved further up the beach, which felt like a home from home to them. However, they both knew that was an illusion which the Gamemakers could shatter at any time. And, as they ate a supper of raw fish which Mags had caught using a hook made from a length of wire she had found in her backpack, they saw the Capitol seal appear in the sky. That meant the death recap was about to begin.

Mags looked at the sky as the seven dead tributes began to appear. The girl from District 5 was first, followed by the boy from 6, both tributes from 8, the girl from 9 . . . Mags, who had been ticking off the faces on her fingers as they were shown, switched to her other hand as the boys from Districts 11 and 12 appeared one after the other. That was it; the anthem ended and the seal faded from the sky.

Mags knew she and Jake, no matter how skilled at fishing they were, could not stay on this beach indefinitely. They needed fresh water if either of them was to stand a chance of surviving and that meant they would have to venture inland and look for a stream. That, Mags knew, risked bringing them into conflict with their fellow tributes, but they were prepared for that. She had a knife, Jake had a spear - and they were prepared to use them.


	12. The Twelfth Games

**The Twelfth Games**

_Woof: District 8_

District 8 was one of those districts which did not tend to produce tough tributes. Its urban environment meant its tributes had no chance of learning the ways of nature until they arrived at the Training Centre, which put them at a considerable disadvantage. As a result, it was rare for District 8 tributes to last beyond the first couple of days.

But Woof hoped that he might be an exception. He had managed to escape from the Cornucopia with nothing but a flesh wound to his arm, though his district partner, Chiffon, had not been so lucky. She had fallen to the sword wielded by the girl from District 2. In total, nine tributes had lost their lives in the bloodbath; Woof had heard the cannon shots as he fled into the trees.

Now, as night fell, the Capitol seal appeared in the sky. And, moments later, Woof saw the faces of the nine dead tributes. Both from District 3, the boy from 6, both from 7 . . . Knowing which tribute would be next, Woof braced himself. And there she was - Chiffon, her face projected over the arena. The boy from District 9 was next; in a moment of reckless courage, he had tried to take on the boy from District 1, even though the latter was much stronger. Then both from 12, after which the seal reappeared as the death recap ended and the sky turned dark once more.

As he sat looking up at the sky where he had seen Chiffon's face, Woof made a silent vow. Somehow, he was going to win these Games. He did not know how he was going to do it; after all, he would have the tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 4 to contend with, the Careers as people in the other nine districts had started calling them recently. They had trained for the Games from early childhood, whereas his education had focused on preparing him for a career in a textile factory. Even so, he would try - for Chiffon's sake.


	13. The Thirteenth Games

**The Thirteenth Games**

_Nina: District 5_

Long ago, long before the Dark Days which had led to the creation of the Hunger Games, it had been said by some that the number thirteen was unlucky. That had largely been forgotten now, but that did not alter the fact that the Thirteenth Games _would_ be unlucky for twenty-three kids. Then again, that was true of every Games.

But, as Nina made her way over the moors that formed this year's arena, thoughts of luck were the last thing on her mind. Her main concern was putting as much distance as possible between herself and the other tributes who had survived the bloodbath. It had really lived up to its name this year; the cannons had fired twelve times, meaning twelve tributes were dead on the first day. That had only happened once before, though Nina was barely old enough to remember those Games.

Making camp by a rocky outcrop, Nina looked at the sky as the death recap began. One by one, the dead tributes appeared, beginning with both from District 3. Next came the girl from 6, which meant Nina's district partner, Rex, had survived. The boys from Districts 7 and 8 appeared in the sky, followed by both tributes from 9. Nina saw the boy from 10, who had taken an arrow in the neck as he ran towards the mountain of supplies; his district partner had clearly survived, since her face would have been shown before his had they both fallen. And that, Nina realised, meant none of the tributes from 11 and 12 had survived. Moments later, the sky confirmed what she already knew.

As the seal faded, Nina thought about the faces she had seen in the sky, the faces of the dead. And they were only the start. Before the Games were over, eleven more faces would appear, but she was determined to do everything she could to make sure hers was not one of them. She had a knife and she was prepared to use it.


	14. The Fourteenth Games

_NOTE: Brilliant is mentioned in "There Can Be Only One Winner", though he does not appear directly_

**The Fourteenth Games**

_Brilliant: District 1_

For only the second time in the history of the Hunger Games, the Gamemakers had created an arena based on an artificial environment. When the tributes emerged from their Launch Rooms, they found themselves standing in the middle of what looked like an old industrial complex. Buildings, most of which looked like they could fall down at any moment, surrounded the Cornucopia and there was no sign of anything natural.

But, as far as Brilliant was concerned, that made little difference. The objective was still the same: to outlive all your opponents. At the bloodbath, he and his fellow Careers had killed seven of their fellow tributes, leaving eleven to disperse among the decrepit buildings. They, however, would be dealt with in time; right now, he and his fellow Careers were busy setting up their base camp in a building they had commandeered.

As night fell, the anthem began to play and the Capitol seal appeared above the arena. Brilliant, standing in the open doorway, watched as the faces of the seven dead tributes were projected into the sky, beginning with the boy from District 5, whom Brilliant had killed personally. Next came the girl from 7; she had tried to escape by climbing onto the Cornucopia, but Brilliant's district partner, Topaz, shot her down. Both tributes from District 8 followed, then the boy from 9 and both from 11. That was it; Brilliant watched the seal reappear for the end of the anthem, then fade away.

On the whole, Brilliant was fairly satisfied with the day's work. True, fewer tributes had died than last year, but the number of bloodbath deaths varied from year to year, which meant it was another aspect of the Games for the Capitol residents to bet on. Tomorrow, he decided, he and his fellow Careers would try to capitalize on their success and take out a few more tributes.


	15. The Fifteenth Games

**The Fifteenth Games**

_Helen: District 3_

Helen was eighteen when her name was called at the District 3 reaping. At the past six reapings, she had stood in her section, hoping desperately that her name would not be drawn, even though she knew it meant some other unfortunate girl would have to face almost certain death. But, at her final reaping, it was her turn to walk onto the stage and accept the "honour" of being a tribute.

Now, in the wake of the bloodbath, Helen fled through the jungle that was this year's arena. As she ran, she heard the calls of animals, most of which she could not identify, though she guessed at least some of them would be genetically altered mutts created by the Capitol. But wild animals were not her only worry; she also had her fellow tributes to contend with. Earlier in the day, she had heard eight cannon blasts, marking eight bloodbath deaths. That meant there were still sixteen tributes left, including herself.

At nightfall, Helen made camp and watched the sky through a gap in the jungle canopy as the death recap began. The boy from District 5 appeared first, followed by the girls from 6 and 7; the latter was an auburn-haired twelve-year-old called Maple who had worn her hair in pigtails. Next came the boy from District 9, who had taken a spear in the back as he tried to flee; his district partner had just managed to get away. The boy from District 10 appeared, then both from 11 and, finally, the girl from 12.

After the recap was over, Helen turned her attention to keeping herself alive. This jungle was very different from District 3 and she knew tributes from the more urban districts were almost always at a disadvantage. Even so, she had managed to obtain a fine hunting knife at the Cornucopia, which should come in useful for defending herself against enemies, be they animal or human.


	16. The Sixteenth Games

**The Sixteenth Games**

_Marius: District 2_

With his muscular build and well-honed fighting skills, it was inevitable that Marius would wind up in the arena one day. Especially since he came from District 2, the district where being a tribute was considered such an honour that, when their district escort asked for volunteers, there was almost always at least one taker. Marius's turn came at the Sixteenth Games, when he volunteered to replace the thirteen-year-old whose name had been drawn.

A few days later, Marius and his fellow tributes were in the arena; this year, it consisted of a hilly pasture bordered by woodlands. During the bloodbath, Marius flung himself into the thick of fighting, attacking any non-Career who came within range of the axe he had grabbed from the pile of weapons. Before long, all the tributes except the Careers had either fled the scene or lay dead on the ground. Marius and his fellow Careers withdrew, then listened as ten cannon shots were fired.

At the death recap that night, Marius watched as the ten dead tributes appeared in the sky. The fighting had been so fierce that it had been hard to keep track of the deaths, but now he could see who lived and who died. The girl from District 3 appeared first, followed by both tributes from 6. The boys from Districts 7 and 8 were next, then the girl from 9; the latter had fallen to an arrow fired by Marius's district partner, Atalanta. The two tributes from 10 were shown, before the recap skipped District 11 and ended with the pair from 12.

As the seal faded, Marius felt only a sense of deep satisfaction. His upbringing in District 2, whose citizens were raised with a warrior mindset, meant he saw winning the Games as glorious. The thought that thirteen more kids, including Atalanta, must die for him to achieve that ambition did not bother his conscience.


	17. The Seventeenth Games

_NOTE: April is another victor mentioned in "There Can Be Only One Winner". She is, of course, the unnamed (in canon) District 12 victor mentioned in "The Hunger Games"._

**The Seventeenth Games**

_April: District 12_

The only thing on April's mind right now was to put as much distance as possible between herself and her fellow tributes, especially the Careers. District 12 tributes like her stood little chance in the arena; even if they managed to survive the bloodbath, they rarely lasted more than a few days. They were often weak and undernourished, especially those from the poorer part of 12, known locally as the Seam since it was where all the district's mining families lived.

April, who came from the slightly wealthier merchant class, had grabbed a medium-sized backpack before she fled, though she didn't yet know what it contained. She had no weapons, but at least she was in better shape than the eight tributes who had died in the bloodbath. She had heard the cannon shots earlier and had found herself wondering if one of them was for her district partner, Simm.

Making camp, April watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky. And then the faces began. She saw the boy from District 3, a handsome youth named Fuse who had been called at his last reaping. April sometimes wondered which was worse: being reaped at twelve when you hardly stood a chance, or being reaped at eighteen when you were one year away from safety. But she did not have long to ponder it before the girl from District 5 appeared, followed by both from 6, the boys from 8 and 9, the girl from 10 . . . Was Simm the last dead tribute? No, the girl from District 11 had just appeared.

As the seal faded, April considered her position. She had escaped the bloodbath, but that was only the start. As for Simm, she was relieved he was alive, but she knew him from school and she did not want to risk it coming down to the two of them, though that was highly unlikely. So she planned to avoid him and concentrate on keeping herself alive.


	18. The Eighteenth Games

**The Eighteenth Games**

_Dominic: District 4_

Coming from District 4, Dominic was as much at home in the water as he was on dry land. So, when he emerged from the Launch Room and saw that the Cornucopia was on an island in the middle of a lake, he knew he and his district partner, Shelly, would have a distinct advantage this year. There were no boats among the supplies in the Cornucopia and that meant the only way to get to the shore he could see in the distance was to swim. The tributes from Districts 1 and 2 had been taught to swim as part of their training, but he doubted the same could be said of anyone from the other nine districts.

Nine tributes died in the bloodbath itself; Dominic felled two of them with his trident, a popular choice of weapon among District 4 tributes. But a further four were drowned attempting to swim across the lake, making thirteen in total. As he and his fellow Careers set up camp beside the lake, Dominic saw the Capitol seal appear above the arena and watch as the faces of the dead tributes were projected into the sky.

He saw the girl from District 3, one of the two he had killed. Next came both from District 5, whose male tribute had been among those who drowned; they were followed by the girl from 6 and both from 7. Both tributes from District 8 had drowned, as had the boy from 9. The girl from District 10 appeared, then the boy from 11, Dominic's other victim. The recap ended with both tributes from 12, before the seal returned for the end of the anthem.

Dominic thought about the tributes who were left. Apart from himself and his fellow Careers, only five had made it across the lake; all the districts except 1, 2 and 4 had lost at least one tribute on the first day. As for the remaining non-Careers, first thing tomorrow, he planned to take his trident and go fishing - and he would not be fishing in the lake.


	19. The Nineteenth Games

**The Nineteenth Games**

_Logan: District 7_

As a citizen of District 7, Logan had grown up surrounded by trees; his whole family worked in one of the district's tree plantations. So, when he emerged from the Launch Room, the first thing he did was look for any sign of trees. He saw an area of woodland ahead of him and decided to head there, as soon as he had equiped himself with weapons and supplies from the Cornucopia.

When the gong sounded, Logan ran straight for the golden horn and scooped up a spear and a large black backpack. He was just about to make his escape when he found the girl from District 4 blocking his path; she raised a sword, but Logan was slightly faster and thrust his spear into her belly before she could strike. Pulling his spear free, he decided to make a run for it before any more tributes came after him. He had just made to the edge of the woods when the cannons began to fire, sounding ten times before falling silent.

Logan made camp in the woods and watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky, followed by the dead tributes. First came both from District 3, followed by the girl from 4, then the boy from 6. Logan hoped the next dead tribute would not be his thirteen-year-old district partner, Elvira, but it turned out to be the girl from 8. The boys from Districts 9 and 10 were next; they were followed by both tributes from 11 and the girl from 12. Then, the seal reappeared and the anthem ended.

Logan considered his position. He had killed a Career and that made him a potential target for the remaining Careers. Especially since the District 4 girl had fallen in the bloodbath, something which rarely happened to Career tributes. He would need to keep his spear by his side at all times; even then, if all five Careers attacked him at once, he was doomed. But maybe he could use his knowledge of trees to his advantage.


	20. The Twentieth Games

**The Twentieth Games**

_Blade: District 2_

Blade had been seven years old when his older brother, Hawk, died in the Tenth Hunger Games. Ever since, he had dreamed of one day following in Hawk's footsteps, but with one difference; _he_ was going to succeed where his brother had failed. He was going to win the Games, not make it to the final three and get taken out by a Gamemakers' trap. Blade was determined that when - not if, since he planned to volunteer one day - he became a tribute, he would not repeat Hawk's mistake.

Now, ten years later, Blade was a tribute in the Twentieth Games. At the bloodbath, he had wielded his sword with deadly accuracy and, by the time he and his fellow Careers were through, eight tributes were dead. Ten more had fled into the trees, but they would be dealt with in time. As it was, Blade had given the District 12 girl a wound which would almost certainly prove fatal; with any luck, her cannon would be firing sometime in the next few days.

In the meantime, he sat with his fellow Careers as the death recap began. The first tribute to appear in the sky was the boy from District 3, another computer geek, Blade had noted at the Training Centre; he had even been named Data. Next came the boy from District 5, followed by the girl from 7, then the boy from 8. Blade watched dispassionately as the two tributes from District 9 (both of whom he had killed personally) appeared. Then both from 10 and the recap was over. And, for the first time in the history of the Hunger Games, none of the tributes from Districts 11 and 12 had fallen in the bloodbath.

But that mattered little to Blade. He was here on a mission, a mission to achieve what Hawk had narrowly failed to achieve and win the Hunger Games. Blade reached into his pocket and took out his district token, a brass button he had inherited from his brother.


	21. The Twenty-first Games

**The Twenty-first Games**

_Claudia: District 2_

Claudia and her fellow Careers were gathered around their campfire, cooking some of the food they had obtained from the Cornucopia. As usual, their pack had claimed the bulk of the supplies, whereas the other tributes who had survived the bloodbath had been lucky to get away with a small backpack or a weapon. No-one from outside the Career districts had escaped with a backpack _and_ a weapon, which meant they faced either starvation or having to face the Careers unarmed.

Claudia looked down at the bow and arrows she had obtained at the Cornucopia, a weapon she had already used to devastating effect. During the brutal fight for supplies, two tributes had fallen to her arrows, with eight dying in total. The remaining ten were now scattered all over the arena, which consisted of a deciduous woodland this year. Not that it mattered to her; she and her fellow Careers would hunt them all down. Already, she was looking forward to shooting a few more tributes.

But that would have to wait because the death recap was just beginning. Claudia and her fellow Careers looked up at the sky as the Capitol seal appeared, followed by the faces of the eight dead tributes. First the girl from District 5, then the boy from 6; the latter was one of those Claudia had killed. Then both tributes from 8 appeared, followed by the girl from 9, Claudia's other victim. Claudia watched without emotion as the girl from District 10 was shown, before the recap ended with both tributes from 12. And these were just the start; tomorrow, she and her fellow Careers would set off in search of other tributes to kill.

Claudia was not as physically strong as some District 2 tributes. But she was fast and had a deadly accurate aim which had been honed through years of training. And she meant to put that training into practice.


	22. The Twenty-second Games

**The Twenty-second Games**

_Esteem: District 1_

At the Twenty-second Hunger Games, the tributes found themselves in the middle of a swamp, a swamp filled with hidden dangers such as alligator mutts which could instantly home in on any human who entered their territory. And then there were the patches of ground which, while appearing safe at first glance, could swallow you up and drown you. But, before all that, you had to make it through the bloodbath.

Esteem had counted ten cannon shots, fired as soon as the fighting was over and he and his fellow Careers had retreated. All six of them had made at least one kill; Esteem himself had taken out three tributes with the help of the sword he carried in his belt. He recalled looking into a girl's eyes as she begged him to spare her - his response had been to stab her through the heart. No doubt there had been a close-up of her frightened, tear-stained face.

Now, as the sun set, the Careers assembled in their territory and watched as the death recap began. One by one, the ten dead tributes appeared in the sky. Esteem saw the boy from District 3 (one of his victims) followed by the girl from 5, both from 6 and the boy from 7. Then both from District 8 - he'd killed their male tribute as well - and the girl from 9, the one who had pleaded with him. Not that it had done her much good; he would have killed her anyway, but her pleas had given it an extra edge which should go down well in the Capitol. The boy from 10 appeared, then the recap ended with the girl from 12.

If Esteem felt any qualms about the girl he had killed when she'd begged him not to, he didn't show it. He did not know her name and nor did he want to know. She was just a nameless tribute; it made little difference who she was, whether she'd had siblings or anything like that. All he thought about was the show he had given the audience.


	23. The Twenty-third Games

_NOTE: Though the District 9 girl is unnamed here, she is also mentioned in "There Can Be Only One Winner" where her name is Blossom._

**The Twenty-third Games**

_Coral: District 4_

As she and her fellow Careers retreated from the Cornucopia, Coral heard the cannon blasts that marked the deaths of those who had fallen in the bloodbath. Nine of them this year; the girl from District 12 had still shown signs of life, but she was fading fast. Sure enough, after the first eight shots had fired, there was a longish pause before the ninth shot sounded.

There had not been a very varied selection of weapons in the Cornucopia this year, just clubs and daggers. Five of the Careers had armed themselves with clubs which they had used to bludgeon their opponents to death, but Coral had taken a dagger instead. Even so, she had managed to take out the boy from District 3, a thirteen-year-old called Tomas. Minutes later, Tuxedo, the District 1 boy who was the Career pack's self-appointed leader, gave the order to retreat.

Now, as the sun set, Coral sat with her fellow Careers, watching the death recap. She tried to look indifferent as Tomas appeared in the sky, but all she could think of was how young he was. Even though she was a Career, she had not wanted to kill any of the youngest tributes; Tomas had just happened to get in her way. But she did not have long to dwell on things before the girl from District 5 was shown, followed by both from 7, the boy from 8, both from 10 and the girls from 11 and 12. Then the recap ended.

Coral knew her fellow Careers would go after the weakest of their remaining opponents first. And their most likely target was the thirteen-year-old girl tribute from District 9. But Coral wanted no part in that, not after what she had done to Tomas. And that meant she would have to break with the pack and go it alone. It was risky - she would be making herself a target for her fellow Careers - but her conscience would not allow her to do anything else.


	24. The Twenty-fourth Games

**The Twenty-fourth Games**

_Alvin: District 5_

Alvin did not look back as he fled from the Cornucopia, but he could hear the sounds of battle behind him. When the gong had sounded, he had jumped off his plate and grabbed the nearest backpack, but he'd then had to escape before anyone came after him. Now, his main concern was putting as much distance as possible between himself and the others, especially the Careers.

Presently, he began to hear cannon blasts and knew the fighting had ceased; that meant whoever was still alive after the bloodbath had dispersed into the arena. He counted the shots - just six this year. There were eighteen tributes left and he had to outlive seventeen of them, though he did not know how yet. He had no weapons, but maybe his pack contained something useful. Opening it, he found some beef jerky, a camping knife which (though it had multiple blades) was too small to do much damage to a human, a bottle of water and a length of nylon rope. He smiled grimly as he imagined confronting the Careers with this "arsenal".

In the meantime, night was falling. So Alvin made camp and watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky, followed by the faces of the dead tributes. He saw the girl from District 7 first; that meant all the tributes from the first six districts were alive. Next came the boy from 8, followed by the girl from 9, both from 11 and the boy from 12. As the recap ended, Alvin considered his position.

Part of him was glad only a few tributes had died in the bloodbath, but it also meant he would have more opponents to worry about. The Careers would be armed and on the hunt by now and he didn't want to think about what his chances were against them. His camping knife was the closest thing he had to a weapon, but it would be useless against swords and spears. He would have to rely on his wits if he was to stay alive.


	25. The Twenty-fifth Games

**The Twenty-fifth Games**

_Sharkey: District 4_

When the Hunger Games began, it was decreed that, once every twenty-five years, a Quarter Quell would be held, with a cruel twist added to remind the districts of the Capitol's power. For the first Quell, the districts were forced to vote for their own tributes. This was to remind the people that the Games existed because they had chosen to rebel against the Capitol, so they now had to choose who should be sent to the arena.

Sharkey, a handsome eighteen-year-old, was elected as District 4's male tribute. In fact, most of the tributes voted into the arena were at the older end of the prescribed age range; no-one wanted to vote for young kids. Consequently, the youngest tribute this year was a fifteen-year-old boy from District 9. But the result of only having older tributes was a particularly brutal bloodbath, which ended with thirteen tributes dead.

As night fell, Sharkey looked at the sky as the dead tributes appeared. First came the boy from District 1, followed by both from 3, then the girls from 5 and 6. Next, he saw both from District 7, the boy from 8, both from 10, the boy from 11 and both from 12. That meant nine of the twelve districts had lost at least one tribute on the first day, including one of the Career districts. The remaining Careers (including Sharkey) quickly assembled their pack and set out to hunt down the rest of the tributes. As always they were armed to the teeth - Sharkey's weapon was a harpoon with vicious, backward-pointing barbs - and prepared to kill whoever crossed their path.

Sharkey did not allow himself to think about what the people in the districts must be feeling, though he knew it would be hard for them to watch the tributes they had been made to elect die. Like any Career, his main concern was trying to take out as many of his opponents as possible.


	26. The Twenty-sixth Games

**The Twenty-sixth Games**

_George: District 11_

District 11 was by far the biggest district in Panem, but it was also one of the poorest, with most of its citizens barely earning enough to live on. It was also the most strictly policed; anyone caught raiding the fields where the district's crops grew faced a mandatory public whipping. And, after twenty-six years, it was the only district that had yet to produce a Hunger Games victor.

But maybe, George thought as he made camp among the trees, he could break that losing streak. He was one of those District 11 citizens who had grown strong as a result of years of heavy agricultural work. That might give him an edge; he'd already throttled a boy during the bloodbath earlier in the day. In total, ten tributes had died this year, their deaths announced by ten cannon blasts.

As the sun set, George watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky. The faces of the dead tributes followed, starting with the boy from District 3. Next came both from District 5, the girl from 7, both from 8 and the boy from 9. The latter, a sandy-haired fourteen-year-old, was the tribute George had throttled as they both tried to claim the same backpack. Both tributes from 10 followed, before the recap ended with the girl from 12.

As the seal faded, George was momentarily relieved that District 11 had been skipped; it meant his district partner, Season, had survived. But he quickly reminded himself that he might have to kill her before he was through here, even though she was his cousin. He looked down at his hands, recalling how he had closed them around the District 9 boy's throat, and tried to imagine himself doing the same thing to Season. Killing a boy he barely knew was bad enough, but a girl who had been one of his childhood playmates . . . He would just have to hope someone (or something) else killed her first.


	27. The Twenty-seventh Games

_NOTE: Autumn is another victor mentioned in "There Can Be Only One Winner"._

**The Twenty-seventh Games**

_Autumn: District 7_

Autumn had long since left the Cornucopia behind; she could no longer hear the sounds of her fellow tributes fighting it out. But she told herself to keep moving, knowing the cannons could begin to fire at any moment. That would mean the bloodbath was over and whoever had survived would be on the move. She carried a medium-sized backpack over her shoulder and a hunting knife in her belt; there had been axes, a popular weapon among District 7 tributes, in the Cornucopia, but they were too far in and there was no way she could reach them and get clear before the other tributes trapped her.

Presently, Autumn began to hear the cannon blasts that meant the bloodbath was over. She counted nine shots in total, which told her fourteen of her fellow tributes were still alive and could descend on her at any time. But, with a bit of luck, she had managed to put some distance between them and herself. And that meant she should be safe - for now.

At nightfall, she watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky and waited to see which tributes had died. First up was the girl from District 3, followed by the boy from 6, then both from 8. Next came the girls from 9 and 10; Autumn had actually killed the latter, though she hadn't meant to. They had been fighting over a loaf of bread when Autumn's knife slipped and ended up in the District 10 girl's stomach. Autumn had had to flee shortly after, leaving the bread behind. But, before she had time to think about this, the boy from District 11 appeared, then both from 12 and the recap was over.

Autumn ran her fingers over her knife, which still had some dried blood on it from the District 10 girl. Who would be next to fall prey to the blade she carried? Killing someone by accident was one thing, but this would be deliberate. She would be murdering innocent people.


	28. The Twenty-eighth Games

**The Twenty-eighth Games**

_Diamond: District 1_

A cut diamond is one of the most beautiful things in existence, but it is also the hardest. And, when Diamond volunteered as District 1's female tribute in the Twenty-eighth Hunger Games, she decided her strategy would be to draw inspiration from the gemstone after which she was named. For her pre-Games interview, she focused on her physical appeal; dressed in a sexy red dress, she flirted with the audience and gave no indication of the fighter she really was.

But, when it came to the bloodbath, she was in the thick of the fighting. Armed with a sword, she managed to take out two of her fellow tributes, with eight tributes falling in total. When it was all over and the surviving tributes had retreated, she and her fellow Careers listened as eight cannon blasts were fired, one for each dead tribute.

That evening, Diamond looked up at the sky as the faces of the dead tributes appeared. She saw both from District 3; their male tribute (whose name was Rod) was one of the two she had killed, running him through as he tried to make a run for it. Next came the girl from 5, then the boys from 7 and 8, then the girl from 9, Diamond's other victim. She had been a twelve-year-old named Tess, not that Diamond cared about details like that. The girl from District 11 followed, before the recap ended with the boy from 12. As the Capitol seal faded from the sky, Diamond felt a sense of deep satisfaction at a job well done.

Like many Career tributes, she gave little thought to the tributes she had killed. As far as she was concerned, every dead tribute brought her one step closer to victory; it made little difference to her who they were or which district they came from. She had been trained to kill without compunction and that was what she meant to do. She was like her namesake: beautiful but hard.


	29. The Twenty-ninth Games

**The Twenty-ninth Games**

_Beetee: District 3_

District 3 had long had a reputation for producing tributes with great technical knowledge. Unfortunately, that rarely gave them any real advantage; in the past twenty-eight Games, only two victors had come from 3 and it had been fourteen years since a tribute from 3 made it into the final eight. Nonetheless, when he was reaped for the Twenty-ninth Games, Beetee knew his best chance of winning would be to draw on his knowledge of technology.

Knowing he was not a natural fighter, he took no part in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Instead, when the gong sounded, he grabbed the first pack he reached and made his escape before any of his fellow tributes could come after him. He did not look back once and nor did he stop moving until the cannon blasts began, each representing one dead tribute. He counted eight in total, which left him with fifteen opponents to face, fifteen opponents he had to outlive.

That evening, Beetee watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky, followed by the eight dead tributes. First up was the girl tribute from District 5; that meant everyone in the first four districts had survived, including his district partner, Liza. Next came both tributes from 6, the boy from 7, both from 9 and the girls from 10 and 11. That was it; the seal was back in the sky for the end of the recap, before fading away.

Beetee considered his options. He had no weapons, but he had found a coil of wire in his pack. Most tributes who found such a wire would, he knew, not have the faintest idea what they were supposed to do with it, though he bet some would try to use it as a garrotte. But garrottes were not his style; besides, coming from District 3, he knew the wire could be put to other uses. He just had to figure out what and, until he did, he was going to keep a low profile.


	30. The Thirtieth Games

**The Thirtieth Games**

_Adrian: District 6_

Adrian's main concern right now was getting as far away from his fellow tributes as possible. He ran across the plains that made up most of this year's arena, aiming for a stand of trees on the horizon. If he could get there, he should be able to conceal himself among the trees, at least for a while. As far as he could tell, no-one was after him - yet. But there was no time to lose; the cannons marking the end of the bloodbath could begin to fire at any moment.

He was almost at his destination when the shots began, one for every tribute killed in the bloodbath. One . . . two . . . Adrian counted the shots until they reached seven and ceased. Seven tributes dead in total, but which seven were they? And was his district partner, Erica, among them? He had no way of knowing, but he would find out tonight. In the meantime, he had to reach the trees before any of the remaining tributes came after him.

That evening, Adrian watched as the faces of the seven fallen tributes were projected into the sky. First up was the boy from District 3, a dark-haired sixteen-year-old named Digit. Next came the girl from 5, followed by . . . Adrian shook his head in a vain attempt to deny what he was seeing, but there she was in the sky - Erica, dead on the first day. As the tributes from District 8 appeared, followed by the boys from 9 and 10, Adrian was so overwhelmed with rage that he barely noticed when the recap ended.

One of his fellow tributes had killed Erica. He did not know which one, but, as far as he was concerned, they were all his targets, especially the Careers. Somehow, even though he was only armed with a knife, he was going to kill as many tributes as possible. It wouldn't bring Erica back - nothing would - but it might help to avenge her. That would be his goal over the coming days and weeks.


	31. The Thirty-first Games

**The Thirty-first Games**

_Seeder: District 11_

The arena for the Thirty-first Games comprised two forests, one of which contained heavily laden fruit trees, while the other had nothing but dead wood. Standing on her plate at the Cornucopia, Seeder knew many of her fellow tributes (those who survived the bloodbath) would head for the fruit trees, thinking they were the key to their survival. But she knew the Gamemakers were probably counting on them doing just that, which meant the fruit was probably poisoned, or the area around the trees was booby-trapped.

So, when the gong had sounded and she had grabbed a backpack of supplies, Seeder headed towards the other forest, the one with the dead trees. She was already a fair distance in when she began to hear the cannon shots that told her the fighting at the Cornucopia was over. But, if her guess was right, most of the survivors had gone in the opposite direction, towards the apparent bounty of the fruit trees; that meant she shouldn't have to worry about any pursuers for a day or so. In the meantime, she counted the cannon shots - ten this year.

That evening, Seeder sat under a dead tree, watching as the faces of the fallen tributes appeared in the sky. She saw both tributes from District 3, the boys from 5 and 6, the girl from 7, both from 8, the girl from 9, the boy from 10 . . . That left one more dead tribute. Was her district partner, Plow, about to appear in the sky? No, but the girl from District 12 was.

As the seal faded away, Seeder knew these Games were going to be tough, especially if her suspicions about the fruit trees proved to be correct. It would mean the tributes were entirely dependent on the supplies obtained at the Cornucopia and most of those would have been claimed by the Careers. But, coming from District 11, she was used to going hungry when surrounded by plenty.


	32. The Thirty-second Games

**The Thirty-second Games**

_Faith: District 4_

The tributes had emerged in a tropical paradise. The Cornucopia stood on a white sandy beach, with waves gently lapping at the shore and stands of palm trees surrounding them on three sides. It was a beautiful sight, but these were the Hunger Games and Faith knew that meant this paradise would soon be shattered.

By the time the bloodbath was over, the blood of ten tributes stained the once pristine sand. Faith and her fellow Careers withdrew to allow the Gamemakers to collect the bodies and listened as ten cannon shots were fired. Then, once the beach was clear of bodies, they headed back to the beach and set to work dividing the booty. Soon, all six of them were ready to hunt down the remaining tributes. First, though, they had to watch the death recap to see who was dead; the fighting had been fast and furious and, with everyone dressed the same, it had been hard to tell individuals apart.

Faith watched as the dead tributes appeared in the sky. She saw the boy from District 3 first, then both from 5, then the girl from 7. Faith had killed the latter, spearing her in the back as easily as if she had been spearing a fish. The boy from District 9 was next, followed by both from 10; the tributes from 11 had both died as well. Last of all came the girl from 12, after which the seal reappeared in the sky and the anthem ended.

Faith suspected this arena was an island, though she couldn't be sure. If it was, that meant there was nowhere for the other tributes to flee, except into the sea and she suspected most of them couldn't swim. And, even if they could, there was no telling what lurked in the water, though it probably included some of the Capitol's mutts. Not that Faith was about to worry about that; she was already picturing herself cornering one of her fellow tributes on this very beach.


	33. The Thirty-third Games

**The Thirty-third Games**

_Vernon: District 7_

The Gamemakers had placed the Cornucopia near the edge of a cliff, which meant any tributes who found themselves on the outside edge had better have a good head for heights. That didn't worry Vernon, though; coming from District 7, he had spent half his life in the trees and was used to being up high. But a tree and a cliff were two different things and this cliff looked like it could give way at any moment.

As soon as the gong sounded, Vernon jumped off his plate and ran towards the mountain of supplies. He grabbed a spear and a backpack, then fought his way towards Barbara, his district partner and ally, who had managed to grab a small pack of her own. They had to get clear before the rest of the tributes came after them; Vernon could take on most of the Careers one-on-one, but he and Barbara wouldn't stand a chance if all the Careers decided to rush them. So they decided to cut their losses and escape while they could. They were almost at a stand of trees which might provide some shelter when the cannons began to fire.

This year, there were eight shots and, that evening, Vernon and Barbara watched as the eight dead tributes appeared in the sky. The boy from District 3 appeared first, followed by the girl from 6, the boys from 8 and 9, the girl from 10, both from 11 and the girl from 12. Vernon had seen the latter (a skinny twelve-year-old) in the Training Centre a few times, though he had never spoken to her. However, he had overheard her district partner call her Daisy and thought she looked as fragile as the flower which bore her name.

She had also been so young and innocent. But Vernon told himself to stop thinking like that; if he wanted to get back to District 7, he must face the fact that all his fellow tributes must die. Even Barbara could not be spared.


	34. The Thirty-fourth Games

_NOTE: Thalia also appears in "There Can Be Only One Winner"_

**The Thirty-fourth Games**

_Thalia: District 9_

Thalia fled into the mountains, giving no thought to anything except putting as much distance as possible between herself and the other tributes. Her district partner, Otis, was dead already and she had no wish to join him. So she ran, not daring to stop for anything; she'd managed to grab a backpack and a knife at the Cornucopia, but she knew she would hardly stand a chance if she came up against the Careers.

Presently, as she continued to run, Thalia heard the boom of a cannon and knew the fighting must be over and the other tributes who had survived the bloodbath had dispersed. Pausing, she counted nine shots in total, each representing one dead tribute. She already knew Otis was among them, but she had no way of knowing who the other eight were; she would have to wait until tonight to find out.

That evening, Thalia watched the sky as the nine fallen tributes appeared. The first tribute she saw was the boy from District 3, followed by the girl from 5, both from 6, the girl from 8 . . . Then Otis appeared in the sky; Thalia remembered how the District 1 girl, Jewel, had shot him in the neck with an arrow. But she barely had time to think about this before the boy from District 10 appeared, followed by both tributes from 11. As the Capitol seal reappeared for the end of the anthem, Thalia considered her position.

Fourteen of her fellow tributes were still alive and six of them were the Careers. This year's pack looked like a mean bunch, particularly the pair from District 2 who could handle an array of weapons. And the girl from 2, Veronica, took a sadistic pride in her talent for gouging eyes. Thalia made a mental note to hope Veronica died sooner rather than later and to steer clear of her in the meantime. But she had an uneasy feeling it would come down to the two of them.


	35. The Thirty-fifth Games

**The Thirty-fifth Games**

_Princess: District 1_

The Cornucopia had been set up on a plateau in the centre of the arena. Standing on her plate, Princess quickly scanned her surroundings, noting that there were open fields to her left and right, plus woods straight ahead and a barren landscape littered with rocks behind her. She knew what she and her fellow Careers must do: secure the woods and make sure their fellow tributes would have nowhere to hide.

First, though, there was the "small matter" of the bloodbath. When the gong sounded, Princess and the other Careers were off their plates within moments and were soon armed and ready for battle. Princess had obtained a sword which she used to devastating effect, stabbing the girl from District 11 through the heart and badly wounding two other tributes. It was all over within three hours; eight tributes fell in the bloodbath, leaving sixteen still in the Games. And, needless to say, all the Careers had survived.

That evening, once she and her fellow Careers had set up camp in the woods, Princess watched as the Capitol seal was projected into the sky. Having been in the thick of the fighting, she had a fair idea who had and who had not survived; nevertheless, she wanted it confirmed. So she watched as the dead tributes were shown, starting with the girl from District 5, a pigtailed thirteen-year-old named Karen. Next came both from 7, the boys from 8 and 9, the girl from 11 and both from 12. Eight down - and they were just the start.

Princess was not the sweet little girl her name implied, not that there were any real princesses in Panem. She had been trained to kill all her life and she had taken out the District 11 girl without batting an eyelid or allowing herself to think about her victim's family, now mourning their loss. Already, she was looking forward to adding to her tally of kills.


	36. The Thirty-sixth Games

**The Thirty-sixth Games**

_Taurus: District 10_

From the moment his name was drawn from the reaping ball, Taurus was in no doubt as to what his strategy should be. He was going to fight it out at the Cornucopia and try to take down at least one opponent; at just over six feet tall and (appropriately, given his name) with the strength of a bull, he was sure he could do it. After all, he was just about the strongest tribute District 10 had produced.

At the Cornucopia, the first thing he did was arm himself with an axe which he used to take out two of his opponents, felling them before they could get clear. Then, he grabbed the items his victims had tried to claim, escaping with not one but two backpacks, both of which were well-stocked with supplies. As he lugged both packs away from the Cornucopia, Taurus heard eleven cannon blasts.

The larger of Taurus's backpacks contained some sheeting large enough to make an improvised tent. That evening, he strung it across a low branch, used rocks to hold it down and sat inside to watch the death recap. First up was the boy from District 3, then both from 5, followed by the girl from 6, one of those Taurus had killed. The pair from District 7 were next, then the boy from 8. Taurus saw the girl from District 9; she was followed by his other victim, the boy from 11. Taurus needed no-one to tell him that the last two dead tributes would be the pair from District 12.

Taurus was already thinking about strategies for his next kills. Most of the remaining tributes should be easy enough, but, if he was to win, he would eventually have to take on the Careers. And they were all tough opponents, even for him. His best bet would be to follow the example of the cattle ranchers back in District 10: separate out individual Careers and, once they no longer had the protection of their pack, finish them off.


	37. The Thirty-seventh Games

**The Thirty-seventh Games**

_Damask: District 8_

Damask had been running for what felt like hours, clutching her pack as though it was a lifeline. She had barely managed to get away from the Cornucopia before her fellow tributes converged; an arrow fired by the boy from District 1 had narrowly missed her skull. Now, her only thought was to put as much distance as possible between herself and the others.

Presently, she heard the cannons begin to fire and paused to count the shots. She counted six, which meant six of her fellow tributes were dead. Last year, she recalled, there had been nearly twice as many bloodbath deaths. But fewer dead tributes meant more opponents who were still in the Games, more opponents who could potentially kill her unless she could kill them first. The trouble was, she had not managed to obtain any weapons.

That evening, Damask made camp in a stand of trees and watched the sky as the death recap began. As the six dead tributes appeared, she counted them off on her fingers, starting with the boy from District 3. Next came the girls from Districts 6 and 7, followed by both from 9. Damask, having run out of fingers on one hand, switched to the other as the girl from District 11 rounded off the death recap and the seal reappeared for the end of the anthem.

Damask knew the Games were only just beginning. Even if they survived the bloodbath as she and her district partner, Tweed, had done, District 8 tributes rarely lasted long. And the fact that she was weaponless meant it was even more unlikely that she would leave the arena alive . . . Wait, maybe she had no weapons, but she had seen plenty of stones on the ground. And hurling a stone at an opponent could do a fair amount of damage if it struck in the right place; it could even kill. She made a mental note to gather up a few stones - they would be her weapon.


	38. The Thirty-eighth Games

**The Thirty-eighth Games**

_Zoe: District 4_

For the Thirty-eighth Games, the Gamemakers divided the arena into five different weather zones, each designed to make life uncomfortable for the tributes. Right now, Zoe and her fellow Careers were in the rain zone, trying to keep themselves and the equipment they had fought for at the Cornucopia dry. Coming from District 4, Zoe had been raised near water, but there was such a thing as too much water.

Pulling up the hood on her jacket, she thought back to the events of this morning. Between them, she and the other Careers had taken out seven tributes in the bloodbath, leaving ten non-Careers still to eliminate. As soon as the last cannon shot had sounded, the Careers had set off to hunt down their remaining opponents - and immediately found themselves in the middle of a downpour. It had, quite literally, been hot and sunny one moment, pouring with rain the next.

When the death recap began that evening, Zoe and the others crouched on the ground, holding their packs over their heads, to watch. Through a veil of rain, Zoe could just make out the faces of the seven dead tributes being projected into the sky. She saw both tributes from District 5, followed by the boy from 7, then the girls from 8 and 9, then both from 11. Unusually for a Career, she had not killed anyone in the bloodbath, but she had badly wounded the girl from District 12; with a bit of luck, the latter's face should be appearing in the sky within the next few days.

Meanwhile, Zoe and her fellow Careers moved on. But it wasn't long before they found themselves in the next weather zone, one which featured a blinding snowstorm. Heat, rain, snow - Zoe wondered if this was all part of the Gamemakers' plan. If it was, it seemed likely that many tributes would die not at the hands of their fellow tributes, but from exposure to the elements.


	39. The Thirty-ninth Games

**The Thirty-ninth Games**

_Martha: District 6_

Ever since the Hunger Games began, the tributes had been warned to remain on their plates for sixty seconds after arriving in the arena, though no-one had ever explained why. And no tribute had ever stepped off too soon - until now. Martha had seen her district partner, Hector, blown to bits when he jumped off his plate two seconds before the countdown ended, triggering several powerful landmines. Bits of him were now strewn all over the ground.

Martha barely had time to take in the horror of what had happened before the gong sounded and the remaining tributes were free to approach the Cornucopia. At first, several of them hesitated, perhaps fearing some sadistic trick of the Gamemakers would get them blown up as well, but she knew it wouldn't take long before they remembered that was not how the Gamemakers operated. In the meantime, she grabbed a backpack and a spear, then headed for the woods before the other tributes came to their senses.

Nine cannon blasts sounded following the bloodbath, one for Hector and eight for the tributes who had died in the fighting. That evening, Martha watched as their faces appeared in the sky. The boy from District 3 was first, followed by the girl from 5, then Hector. Next came both tributes from District 8, then the girl from 9, followed by both from 11 and the boy from 12. As the anthem ended and the seal faded from the sky, Martha found herself thinking about the events of the morning.

Hector, who had been in her class at school, had always been somewhat impulsive and, when his name was called at the District 6 reaping, Martha had known it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed; a reckless tribute very quickly became a dead tribute. But she hadn't expected him to go as soon as he had, blown up less than a minute after arriving in the arena.


	40. The Fortieth Games

**The Fortieth Games**

_Lyme: District 2_

By the Fortieth Hunger Games, District 2's reputation for producing tough tributes was well established. They almost always had a tribute in the final two, though it had been nearly twenty years since one of their tributes had won. To many inhabitants of 2, this was a source of shame, but Lyme had been studying the district's recent tributes and had noticed a serious flaw in their strategy: many of them relied too heavily on brute force. So, when she volunteered for the Games, she was determined to do things differently. She was going to think tactically, plan every move she made; physical strength alone was not always enough.

Lyme was part of the Career pack, though she meant to strike out on her own as soon as the time was right. In the meantime, she and her fellow Careers fought it out at the Cornucopia and, by the time they were through, twelve tributes were dead. Lyme herself had killed two of them, the two she felt would be the biggest threats later on. So she had decided to get rid of them as soon as she could.

That evening, Lyme watched as the twelve dead tributes appeared in the sky. Both from District 3, the girl from 5, both from 6, the boy from 7 . . . The latter, a lumberjack's son called Austin, was one of those Lyme had killed. Next came the girl from 8, followed by both from 10 and 11, then the boy from 12. Lyme's other victim had been the District 10 girl, Mercy, who had achieved the highest training score of all the non-Careers.

Lyme had no way of knowing what Mercy had done to score as high as she had. But, with the tactical approach she was taking, she could not afford to ignore a potential threat. So Mercy had to go, had to be taken out like an enemy chess piece. And that was how Lyme planned to approach the rest of the Games, by using her brain to enhance her fighting skills.


	41. The Forty-first Games

**The Forty-first Games**

_Flex: District 3_

When he was launched into the arena, Flex noticed that the tube carrying him seemed unusually long. But the reason soon became obvious; this year, the Cornucopia was suspended about fifty feet off the ground, with the plates bearing the tributes on top of pillars surrounding it. Narrow bridges connected each pillar to the Cornucopia. This meant not only would the tributes have to fight it out, they would have to do it from a very precarious position.

Thankful he wasn't afraid of heights, Flex sprinted across his bridge the instant the gong sounded. Within moments, equiped with backpack and sword, he was getting ready to run back across and climb down the ladder which led to ground level. The girl from District 5 tried to block his path, only to fall to her doom in the ensuing fight. Escaping down the ladder, Flex fled into the wilderness without looking back. He knew the Careers would need time to get all the equipment they won down to the ground, which should give him a head start. Presently, however, he heard ten cannon blasts.

That evening, Flex watched as the ten dead tributes appeared in the sky, ticking them off on his fingers one by one. First came the girl from District 5, followed by both from 6, the boy from 7, both from 8, the girls from 9 and 10 and both from 12. Ten dead, but none from the first four districts which meant his district partner, Sparky, was out there somewhere.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. Even though he and Sparky had known each other since before they were reaped, he could not allow personal feelings to influence his decisions during the Games. He was a tribute and that meant everyone else in this arena was an enemy. He had no interest in forming an alliance with anyone, not when he knew he would almost certainly end up having to kill his own allies.


	42. The Forty-second Games

**The Forty-second Games**

_Glitz: District 1_

Standing on his plate, Glitz sized up his fellow tributes. Apart from his fellow Careers, the only one who looked like a serious contender was the boy from District 11, another of those who had grown strong thanks to years of heavy agricultural work. Glitz made a mental note to take him out as soon as possible; he could pose a threat later on.

When the gong sounded, Glitz and his fellow Careers jumped off their plates and ran towards the bounty piled around the Cornucopia. Within moments, they were armed and ready to take on anyone brave (or foolish) enough to challenge them. In the fight which followed, eight tributes lost their lives; one of them found herself on the wrong end of Glitz's spear. But, being a Career, he did not let the fact that he had killed a girl whose name he didn't even know bother him.

Hours later, Glitz looked at the sky as the faces of the fallen tributes appeared one by one. He saw both from District 3, followed by the boy from 5, then the girl from 8; the latter was the tribute he had speared. Next came both from District 10, followed in turn by the girls from 11 and 12. As the death recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, Glitz felt only a sense of regret that he had not been able to take out the District 11 boy. Still, it was early days yet; there was plenty of time for Glitz to kill him.

In the meantime, Glitz would join his fellow Careers in hunting down the other tributes. But he was not going to trust any of them. Especially not Magnus, the boy from District 2; there was something about him Glitz didn't like, something about his way of looking at the other boy tributes. Glitz had a feeling Magnus had certain . . . inclinations, though that alone was no reason not to trust him. It was how Magnus might act on those inclinations that worried Glitz.


	43. The Forty-third Games

_NOTE: Rik is another tribute mentioned in "There Can Be Only One Winner"_

**The Forty-third Games**

_Rik: District 5_

Rik staggered across the snowy wilderness that was this year's arena, constantly on the alert for signs of pursuit. It wasn't just his fellow tributes he was worried about; knowing the Gamemakers, there were bound to be a few cold-adapted mutts lurking out there. Add to that the fact that the cold could kill him as easily as a fellow tribute or a mutt and he had every reason to keep moving.

Rik had managed to escape from the Cornucopia with a medium-sized backpack and an axe. He did not know what the pack contained, but he hoped it would include something he could use to make a fire. Fire was essential in this frozen landscape, though its benefits had to be weighed against the risk of attracting unwelcome attention. Still, he had his axe and, while he was not as proficient with it as a District 7 tribute, he could handle it well enough to defend himself. And at least he was in better shape than the seven tributes who had died in the bloodbath.

That evening, Rik watched as the dead tributes' faces were projected into the sky. To his surprise, the first to appear was the girl from District 1; it had been years since a Career died in the bloodbath. Next came both from District 6, followed by the girls from 8, 9 and 10, then the boy from 12. The Capitol seal reappeared for the end of the anthem, then faded away, leaving Rik pondering his options.

There was no way he could survive long out in the open without heat, even though this year's tribute outfit had been specially insulated against the cold. That meant, regardless of the risks, he had to make a fire and for that he would need wood. He had seen a pine forest while standing on his plate; it was the only source of wood he had seen in the arena. That meant the Careers had probably claimed it already, but he didn't have much choice.


	44. The Forty-fifth Games

_NOTE: For details on the bloodbath at the Forty-fourth Games, see chapter 7 of "There Can Be Only One Winner"_

**The Forty-fifth Games**

_Chaff: District 11_

The moment the gong sounded, Chaff jumped off his plate and ran towards the supplies piled around the Cornucopia. Within seconds, he was armed and equiped with a backpack, but, as he prepared to escape, he found Sextus, the boy from District 2, waiting for him. Both tributes drew their weapons and a fight quickly ensued, culminating in Chaff disarming Sextus and making his escape before Sextus could retrieve his sword.

As he fled into the wilderness, Chaff was constantly on the alert for his fellow tributes; fortunately, they were currently occupied at the Cornucopia. He was a natural fighter and knew he could take on most of his opponents without much difficulty, but he also knew he wouldn't have stood a chance had he been faced with all the Careers. Sextus alone had been tough enough.

Presently, the cannon blasts began, one for each dead tribute. Chaff counted ten in total and, as the sun set, he watched as the ten fallen tributes appeared in the sky. First came the girl from District 3, a slightly built fourteen-year-old named Megan. She was followed by the girl from 5, then both from 6, the boys from 7 and 8, the girl from 9, both from 10 . . . That left one more dead tribute, but who was it? It turned out to be the boy from District 12.

As the anthem ended and the seal faded from the sky, Chaff's thoughts turned to Sextus. From the moment he watched the recap of the District 2 reaping, it had been obvious that Sextus was going to be a tough opponent, someone who would almost certainly progress to the latter stages of the Games. District 2 tributes almost always reached at least the final eight and theirs was the only district that had never lost a tribute in the bloodbath. And that meant, if Chaff managed to survive long enough, he would almost certainly have to face Sextus again.


	45. The Forty-sixth Games

**The Forty-sixth Games**

_Brutus: District 2_

From the moment he stepped forward to volunteer, people had been saying Brutus was one to watch. True, volunteers were not all that unusual in District 2, but Brutus showed a fighting instinct that was strong even among tributes from his district. At the Training Centre, he threw himself into honing his fighting skills and, when it came to his pre-Games interview, he made it clear that his strategy was going to be to kill as many tributes as possible.

Needless to say, Brutus was in the thick of the fighting at the bloodbath. Three tributes died at his hands, with nine dead in total. He and his fellow Careers withdrew and listened as nine cannon blasts were fired. Once the Gamemakers had removed the bodies, the Careers would be back to secure the contents of the Cornucopia. That would give them an advantage in terms of supplies, an advantage which usually meant at least half the Careers reached the final stages of the Games.

That evening, Brutus and the other Careers watched as the nine dead tributes appeared in the sky. Brutus saw the boy from District 5, one of those he had killed; the girl from 6 was next, followed by the boy from 7. Then both from 9; Brutus had killed their girl tribute as well. Next came the boy from District 10 (Brutus's third victim) followed by the girl from 11 and both from 12. As the anthem ended and the seal faded, Brutus's only thought was that fourteen more tributes must die in the coming days.

Of course, if he was to win, that must include his five fellow Careers, but he had no qualms about that. He was a tribute, a Career tribute moreover, and that meant he was prepared to do whatever it took to win. If it came down to himself and one of his fellow Careers, he would not hesitate to kill that Career. Even if it happened to be his own district partner, Thorn.


	46. The Forty-seventh Games

**The Forty-seventh Games**

_Blight: District 7_

Blight ran from the Cornucopia, a spear in his hand and a backpack over his shoulder. His only thought when he arrived in the arena had been to get to the golden horn as soon as the gong sounded, equip himself with weapons and supplies, then get out of there before the others could catch him. As he ran, he did not look back, nor did he allow himself to wonder if his district partner, Twigg, was still alive. His main concern was keeping himself alive and that meant he could not stop for anything or anyone.

Presently, Blight began to hear cannon shots and knew the fighting must be over. Counting the shots, he learned that ten tributes had fallen in the bloodbath, leaving fourteen still in the Games, including himself. But who were the other thirteen? And was Twigg among them? He did not know, but he would find out tonight when the faces of all ten dead tributes were projected into the sky.

As night fell, Blight watched as the faces appeared above the arena. He saw the boy from District 3 first, followed by the pair from 5; both of District 6's tributes had also fallen. Blight waited for the next face, wondering if it might be Twigg, but it proved to be the girl from District 8. The girl from 9 was next, followed by the boy from 10 and both from 11. That marked the end of the death recap and Blight watched as the seal reappeared for the final notes of the anthem, then faded away.

He was relieved Twigg had made it through the first day. She was only just thirteen, one of the youngest tributes in the arena; in fact, her birthday had fallen two days into the training period. Blight knew it would be a miracle if she survived the next few days, but he was most concerned about his own survival and had no time to worry about anyone else. All he could do was hope that, if Twigg did die, it would be quick.


	47. The Forty-eighth Games

**The Forty-eighth Games**

_Onyx: District 1_

The bloodbath was over; the surviving tributes had fled into the hills that formed this year's arena. Only Onyx and his fellow Careers remained, surveying the bodies of those they had killed, those who had had the foolish bravery to challenge the Careers for the bounty within the Cornucopia. Onyx had killed one of them himself, a girl who had grabbed a blue backpack and was trying to get clear; he had shot her in the back with his bow and arrows.

As he and the others withdrew from the Cornucopia, Onyx heard the cannons begin to fire, sounding eight times before falling silent. In the moments which followed, the six of them began to discuss the bloodbath, congratulating each other on their respective kills and brandishing their bloodstained weapons. None of them gave any thought to the fact that they had just killed eight of their fellow human beings; to them, the other tributes were just targets to be eliminated.

At nightfall, Onyx sat round a campfire with the other Careers, watching as the dead tributes appeared in the sky. First he saw both tributes from District 6, followed by the girl from 7; she was the tribute he had killed. Next came the boys from Districts 9 and 10, followed by both from 11 and the girl from 12. The latter, a rather serious fifteen-year-old named Penny, had been the first to fall in the bloodbath, cut down by Onyx's district partner, Flicker.

As the death recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, Onyx's only thought was that he and the others had done a good day's work. His whole life had been building towards this; he had been training for the arena since early childhood and had been conditioned not to let the deaths of his fellow tributes bother him. Indeed, he gave no thought to the District 7 girl he had shot, except to wonder if his next kill would be as simple.


	48. The Forty-ninth Games

**The Forty-ninth Games**

_Pearl: District 4_

As she emerged into the arena, Pearl quickly took in the ring of tributes, making note of which plates contained her fellow Careers and which contained tributes who should be taken out sooner rather than later. Then, she scanned the items in the Cornucopia, her eyes falling on a sword that had been propped against a crate. Unlike most District 4 tributes, who tended to excel with spears and tridents, Pearl's forte was sword-fighting. And she was determined to get that sword no matter what.

When the gong sounded, she ran towards the sword, but the boy from District 8 reached it before her and, just for a moment, it looked as though he was going to get away with _her_ weapon. But, before he could escape, Dido (the District 2 girl) felled him with a spear. Pearl quickly sprinted across and retrieved the sword from his body, before throwing herself into the fray. In total, eleven tributes died in the bloodbath, their deaths announced by eleven cannon shots.

Hours later, Pearl sat with her fellow Careers, watching as the dead tributes appeared in the sky. She saw the boy from District 3 first, followed by both from 5, the girl from 7, both from 8 . . . The boy who had tried to claim her sword hovered over the arena, before being replaced by the girl from District 9. Next came the boy from 10, both from 11 and the boy from 12, before the death recap ended.

Pearl gripped the hilt of her sword, the sword she had almost lost to the District 8 boy. She was grateful to Dido for taking him out, though she doubted he would have lasted long anyway, but these were the Hunger Games and she and Dido were tributes. If it came to it, she was quite prepared to give Dido a taste of her blade. Alliances counted for little as the Games neared their conclusion and it became every tribute for themselves.


	49. The Fiftieth Games

**The Fiftieth Games**

_Haymitch: District 12_

For the second Quarter Quell, each district had to send four tributes instead of the usual two; this was to remind them that two rebels had died in the rebellion for every Capitol citizen. As a result, Haymitch was faced with forty-seven opponents, not twenty-three as in a normal year, but that made little difference to him. The other tributes were, as he said at his pre-Games interview, "one hundred per cent as stupid as usual."

That year, the Cornucopia stood in the middle of a meadow so beautiful that it enchanted all the tributes except one. Haymitch had never been one to get taken in by beauty and, before most of the others had even stepped off their plates, he was already equiped with weapons and supplies and making his escape; as a result, he was well clear of the Cornucopia by the time the bloodbath began. Presently, as he made his way through the woods, he heard eighteen cannon blasts, marking eighteen deaths.

As night fell, Haymitch made camp and watched as the dead tributes appeared in the sky. He saw one girl and one boy from District 3, all four from 6, both boys from 7, one of the girls from 8, both girls and one of the boys from 9, all four from 10 . . . That left two more dead tributes, but who were they? Moments later, he received his answer as two of the tributes (a girl and a boy) from District 11 appeared. Knowing District 12's record, he had half-expected to see at least one of his district partners (Maysilee, Nette and Shaft) in the sky, but they were all alive. As were twenty-six other tributes.

The arena this year was exceptionally beautiful, but Haymitch sensed something deadly behind that beauty; it all looked too good to be true. The Gamemakers would never create something this beautiful, not unless they had a few nasty surprises in store for the tributes.


	50. The Fifty-first Games

**The Fifty-first Games**

_Wiress: District 3_

In a stark contrast to the previous year's beautiful (but lethal) arena, the arena for the Fifty-first Games was a bleak and windswept landscape. Emerging from the Launch Room, Wiress found herself standing in the middle of a field where only coarse plants grew. There were few trees visible and those she could see were stunted and twisted by the wind. It was hard to imagine anything further removed from the urban sprawl that was District 3.

She managed to escape from the Cornucopia with a small backpack (in which she later found a flashlight, some crackers, a flask of water, a box of matches and a camping knife) but seven tributes were not so lucky. Wiress heard the cannon blasts towards mid-afternoon, but did not dare dwell on who might already be dead. She would find out tonight anyway, when they projected the faces of the fallen tributes into the sky.

Sheltering beneath a large rock, Wiress watched as the seal appeared in the sky, followed by the seven dead tributes. First up was the boy from District 5, a rather cautious fifteen-year-old, who had received an arrow in the chest courtesy of the District 1 girl. Then both from 7; from what Wiress had gathered at the Training Centre, they had been twins named Robyn and Kyle. That meant their parents had lost two children in the same Games, but Wiress had no time to dwell on this before the girl from District 9 appeared. The girl from 10 was next, then both from 12 and the recap was over.

Wiress considered her options. She had no weapons except her camping knife and she wasn't a natural fighter anyway. But perhaps, because she was small and quiet, the other tributes might overlook her. And that should give her time to work out a plan, though anything involving the forcefield around the arena was out of the question after what had happened last year.


	51. The Fifty-second Games

**The Fifty-second Games**

_Ophelia: District 4_

Clutching her spear in her hand, Ophelia joined her fellow Careers as they withdrew from the Cornucopia, leaving ten dead bodies behind. She heard ten blasts of the cannon, but did not allow herself to think about the fact that one of those shots was for a boy she had killed personally. Instead, she turned to look at the others in the Career pack.

This year, in addition to the six Careers, the pack contained the girl from District 7. Ophelia did not know much about her, other than that her name was Teresa and she was good with axes. So much so that the Careers had persuaded her to team up with them. It wasn't the first time this had happened; in several previous Games, tributes from outside the Career districts had been included in the pack.

That evening, Ophelia and the others watched as the ten dead tributes appeared in the sky. The boy from District 3 was first, then the girl from 5, then both from 6. Next came the girl from District 8, followed by both from 9, the boy from 11 (the tribute Ophelia had killed) and both from 12. As the recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, Ophelia gazed round at Teresa, who was sitting a little way from the others. From the wary look on Teresa's face, Ophelia guessed she didn't entirely trust her allies.

It wouldn't be surprising if that was true. When a tribute from outside the Career districts joined the pack, they were invariably killed as soon as they had outlived their usefulness. Ophelia had seen it happen in previous Games and she had a feeling Ornate and Rufus (the boys from Districts 1 and 2) were already plotting Teresa's demise. Just for a moment, she felt sorry for the District 7 girl, but she quickly suppressed the thought. There was little room for sentimentality in the Hunger Games, especially among members of the Career pack.


	52. The Fifty-third Games

**The Fifty-third Games**

_Silver: District 1_

As soon as she emerged from her tube, the first thing Silver saw was that this year's arena was divided in half by a river running through the middle. On the bank where the Cornucopia stood, she could see an open field. The opposite bank, meanwhile was heavily forested and that was probably where most of the tributes who survived the bloodbath would head. The Gamemakers had even provided a bridge across the river.

When the gong sounded, Silver didn't hesitate. She ran straight towards the pile of weapons and supplies, snatched up a sword and prepared to attack as the other tributes moved towards the bounty awaiting them. Within moments, the tributes (those who had not chosen to flee) were hacking away at each other; Silver ended up impaling someone with her sword, but was too caught up in the battle to think about who it was. Before long, the riverbank was stained with the blood of eight dead tributes.

That evening, Silver sat with her fellow Careers, watching as the faces of the fallen tributes were projected into the sky, starting with the pair from District 3. Then the girl from 7; that meant everyone from the districts in between had survived, including the twelve-year-old boy from District 5. The boys from 8 and 9 were next, followed by both from 10 and the girl from 12. The latter, a dark-haired fifteen-year-old named Rowena, was the tribute Silver had killed.

As the seal faded from the sky, Silver's only thought was that these eight were just the start. If she was to survive, she must be prepared to kill again, and again. At the very least, she must be prepared for the fact that all her fellow tributes would die, including her handsome district partner, Regal, the boy she had been dating for the past three months. But maybe she could have some "fun" with him before the inevitable happened.


	53. The Fifty-fourth Games

**The Fifty-fourth Games**

_Justine: District 2_

At the Fifty-fourth Hunger Games, the Cornucopia was, for the first and only time in the history of the Games, placed in an underground cave. Emerging from the Launch Room, Justine found herself standing in a vast chamber lit with flourescent green lights. The whole effect was strange and eerie and she wondered what the rest of the arena was like. She could see some steps that looked as though they led to the surface, but what would she find when she got there?

Meanwhile, she had to get past the bloodbath. This year, the fact that the tributes were in a cave made escape difficult, especially after three Careers, including Justine, secured the steps and blocked several non-Careers from getting to the surface. As a result, when the Careers finally emerged from the cave into a landscape dominated by rugged mountains, they left twelve corpses behind, the deaths announced by twelve cannon blasts. Then, because the Capitol's hovercraft could not retrieve bodies from underground, Justine and her fellow Careers went back into the cave and carried the dead tributes to the surface, placing them at the exit.

That evening, Justine watched as the fallen tributes appeared in the sky, starting with the girl from District 3. Next came both from 5, the boys from 6 and 7, both from 8, the girls from 9 and 10, both from 11 and the boy from 12. That meant every non-Career district had lost at least one tribute on the first day, something which had only happened once before. Twelve tributes remained and half of them were the Careers.

As the seal faded from the sky, Justine looked down at the crossbow that was her weapon. She had already taken two tributes (the boy from 5 and the girl from 10) out with its bolts and, with the warrior mindset typical of District 2, she was looking forward to taking out a few more.


	54. The Fifty-fifth Games

**The Fifty-fifth Games**

_Leo: District 5_

Clutching a backpack of supplies in one hand and a knife in the other, Leo fled for his life. The sounds of battle behind him told him that the bloodbath was still going on, but he did not stop running. The cannons marking the first deaths of the Fifty-fifth Hunger Games could begin firing at any moment and, when that happened, it would mean the surviving tributes were on the move. He did not even allow himself to wonder if Cassandra, his district partner, was still alive.

Presently, the first cannon was fired. Another soon followed, then another, then another, until nine shots had been fired. That meant there were still fifteen tributes in the Games, fourteen of whom would also die. Leo decided the best thing he could do was try to take out at least one of his opponents so that, if he was killed, at least he wouldn't have gone down without a fight. He only hoped he wouldn't have to kill Cassandra, a girl he had known since the two of them were three years old.

That evening, Leo looked up at the sky as the Capitol seal appeared, followed by the faces of the nine dead tributes. He saw both tributes from District 3, a petite girl named Jodie and a spiky-haired boy named Socket. Then Cassandra appeared; Leo didn't want to believe it was true, but he could clearly see her in the sky. The girl from District 6 followed, then the boys from 8 and 9, both from 10 and the boy from 12. As the death recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, Leo's thoughts turned to his late partner.

One of his fellow tributes had killed Cassandra. He did not know who it was, but that made little difference; as far as he was concerned, they were all going to pay. He was going to hunt down and kill as many tributes as he could, even though he knew nothing could bring Cassandra back. But at least he could avenge her.


	55. The Fifty-sixth Games

**The Fifty-sixth Games**

_Willa: District 10_

District 10 felt as though it was a million miles away as Willa stood on her plate, waiting for the countdown to end. She could see the other tributes sizing up the bounty in the Cornucopia - and each other. Were they (the Careers, at least) already planning which tributes they would kill first? Coming from the livestock district, Willa was used to the idea of picking out animals for slaughter, but these were human beings. However much she tried, she could not forget that, but she knew she had to if she was to stand any chance in these Games.

When the gong sounded, Willa was off her plate within moments. She grabbed the first weapon she reached (a spear) and was just trying for a nearby backpack when the girl from District 7 reached it a second earlier. Willa reacted instinctively, thrusting the point of her spear into her opponent's stomach and putting her out of the Games for good. Then, she snatched up the pack before any more tributes could try to claim it, pulled her spear free and fled the scene. She did not look back.

Six tributes died in the bloodbath; Willa heard the cannons towards mid-afternoon. That evening, she watched the sky to see whose faces would appear. She already knew the District 7 girl was dead, but who else had fallen? The answers were revealed one by one. The girl from District 3, the boy from 6 . . . Willa saw the girl from 7, confirming what she already knew. The boy from District 9 was next, then the girl from 11 and the boy from 12. As the recap ended, Willa found herself thinking about her actions at the bloodbath.

She had killed the District 7 girl for no reason other than the fact that both of them were after the same pack. She felt a pang of guilt, but quickly told herself to ignore it; these were the Hunger Games and she knew she must be prepared to kill again.


	56. The Fifty-seventh Games

**The Fifty-seventh Games**

_Chase: District 9_

Right now, Chase's main concern was getting as far as possible from his fellow tributes. He had barely escaped from the Cornucopia; an arrow fired by the girl from District 1 had almost turned him into a human pin cushion. Even so, he had managed to get away with a knife and one of the larger backpacks, so he might be all right for a while. If no-one took it into their heads to . . . well, chase him.

Chase smiled at the unintentional pun on his name, but his smile quickly faded as he heard the first cannon shot. More shots followed; Chase counted each one until he had reached ten. Ten of his fellow tributes were dead, leaving fourteen (including himself) still in the Games. Knowing the other survivors would be on the move by now, either searching for or trying to avoid becoming victims, he decided it would be best if he kept going.

That evening, Chase watched the sky as the Capitol seal appeared, followed by the faces of the dead tributes. The boy from District 3 was shown first, then the girl from 5, then both from 6. Chase saw the boy from District 7, followed by the girl from 8. He thought of Amber, his district partner - if she was going to appear, it would happen at any moment. No, the next dead tribute was the boy from District 10. He saw both tributes from 11, before the recap ended with the girl from 12. The seal reappeared for the end of the anthem, then faded away, leaving Chase alone with his thoughts.

He knew the tributes who had appeared in the sky tonight were just the start. Over the coming days and weeks, thirteen of those currently still alive would also die. And he also knew the odds of himself and Amber both making it to the latter stages were slim; District 9 tributes rarely went further than the final eight. But, no matter what happened, he would do his best.


	57. The Fifty-eighth Games

**The Fifty-eighth Games**

_Lupus: District 2_

His name meant "wolf" and Lupus prided himself on having the strength and cunning of the four-footed predators. And the token he wore into the arena at the Fifty-eighth Hunger Games was a gold signet ring engraved with a wolf's head. Like most District 2 tributes, he was a volunteer, eager to risk his life for the chance of glory. Volunteers were common in all the Career districts, but District 2 rarely had a tribute who had not volunteered.

Between them, Lupus and his fellow Careers took out nine tributes in the bloodbath. Lupus himself killed the boy from District 6 and the girl from District 9, running both tributes through with his sword. Once the fighting was over and the survivors had fled, the Careers withdrew and listened as nine cannon shots were fired. As the ninth shot sounded, Lupus couldn't resist giving a triumphant howl, something only a Career tribute would have risked doing.

Hours later, he watched as the dead tributes appeared in the sky, starting with the boy from District 3. The girl from 5 was next, then both from 6; Lupus saw the boy he had killed. The boy from District 7 appeared, followed by the girl from 9, both from 10 and the girl from 11. It had been Lupus's district partner, Spice, who shot the latter in the back; the bow and arrows which had done the deed were now resting against Spice's pack. As the death recap ended, the only emotion Lupus felt was a sense of deep satisfaction.

Coming from District 2, he had been raised to see the Hunger Games as something glorious; he gave no thought to the fact that he and his fellow Careers had killed nine kids they didn't even know, no thought to the nine families now grieving for their loved ones. And this was only the start. Tomorrow, he would lead the pack as they went in search of more tributes to kill.


	58. The Fifty-ninth Games

**The Fifty-ninth Games**

_Gizmo: District 3_

The arena at the Fifty-ninth Hunger Games was divided into four areas. To the south was an area which, while not quite a desert, was not far off it. To the north stood a vast forest, while east was the direction you had to go to reach the grassland zone. Finally, to the west, there was a marsh whose gases were visible from the Cornucopia. The Cornucopia itself stood on a plateau at the centre of the arena. Emerging from his tube, Gizmo found himself on one of the plates nearest the forest area.

Gizmo escaped from the Cornucopia with a medium-sized backpack, but eight of his fellow tributes were not so lucky. As he fled through the forest, he heard the cannons firing, each shot representing one dead tribute. But which eight were they? And was his district partner, a pretty seventeen-year-old named Acey, among them? Those were questions that would have to wait until this evening.

As night fell, Gizmo (camped under a tree) watched as the Capitol seal appeared in the sky, followed by the faces of the dead. The girl from District 6 (whose named was Piper) was shown first. She was followed by the boy from 7, both from 8, the boy from 10, both from 11 and the girl from 12. As the recap ended and the seal faded, Gizmo considered his position.

He'd been through his pack earlier in the day and knew it contained a flask of water, some dried meat, a sleeping bag, a first aid kit and a length of wire which, when he tested it on his hand, proved to be razor sharp. Perhaps it was meant to be used for making snares - not that Gizmo had much use for that skill in District 3 - but it could also be useful as a weapon against his fellow tributes. He cleaned and bandaged the cut on his hand, promising to show the whole of Panem that District 3 tributes were not all geeks who couldn't hold their own in a fight.


	59. The Sixtieth Games

**The Sixtieth Games**

_Cashmere: District 1_

The Sixtieth Hunger Games took place in an arena dominated by twelve lakes. The Cornucopia had been placed by the shore of the largest lake, with eleven smaller lakes dotted around. Of course, it wouldn't be the Hunger Games without a few cruel twists and, in this case, it was that only four of the lakes were safe. The rest contained either poisoned water or mutts that would attack anyone who tried to approach.

However, all this was academic if you didn't survive the bloodbath. And Cashmere, standing on her plate, was determined to take out at least one of her opponents. Though she was named after a soft, luxurious wool, she had the ruthlessness of any Career tribute and she meant to show the whole of Panem her fighting skills. In the end, she killed two tributes (the girl from 6 and the boy from 8) with eleven falling in total.

That evening, Cashmere sat with her fellow Careers, watching as the faces of the dead tributes appeared in the sky. She saw both tributes from District 3, followed by the girls from 5 and 6, both from 8, the girl from 9, the boys from 10 and 11 and both from 12. No emotion registered on her face as she watched the death recap, not even when those she had killed personally appeared; her only thought was that most of the dead tributes, weak and undertrained like most non-Careers, would not have lasted long anyway. Except for the District 11 boy (who had got in the way of Cashmere's district partner, Shine) none of them could put up a decent fight.

As far as Cashmere was concerned, the eleven who had died in this year's bloodbath were just the start. Tomorrow, she would join her fellow Careers in the hunt for more victims, more tributes to eliminate. And, if their hunt was successful, as she was sure it would be, there would be more faces in the sky tomorrow evening.


	60. The Sixty-first Games

**The Sixty-first Games**

_Gloss: District 1_

Though a number of Hunger Games tributes had been related to previous tributes, no family in Panem had ever produced more than one victor. Having a victor's sibling, or child, or whatever in the arena always generated interest, mostly in the form of bets on whether or not the tribute concerned could emulate their relative's success. So far, none of them had, though a few had come close.

But Gloss, who volunteered the year after his sister emerged as victor, was determined to make Hunger Games history. If he won, not only would it be only the second time the same district had won two years in a row, it would also be the first time two members of the same family had won the Games. To that end, he threw himself into the thick of the fighting at the Cornucopia, killing three of the nine tributes who died in the bloodbath that year.

That evening, Gloss joined his fellow Careers as they watched the dead tributes appear in the sky above the arena. The boy from District 3 (one of those Gloss had killed) was shown first, followed by the girl from 5, then both from 7; Gloss had killed the District 7 girl, a thirteen-year-old named Lara, as well. Next came the boys from Districts 8 and 9, both from 11 and the girl from 12. The latter, whose name had been Bronwyn, had been Gloss's third victim and one of the first to fall after the gong sounded.

As the Capitol seal faded at the end of the death recap, Gloss felt he could be justifiably proud of himself. After all, he had already made more kills than his sister had at the same stage in last year's Games, even though fewer tributes had died in the bloodbath. That, however, was just the start. There were still fourteen tributes to eliminate and every one that fell brought him one step nearer to what would surely rank as one of the most historic victories.


	61. The Sixty-second Games

**The Sixty-second Games**

_Enobaria: District 2_

Many of the most bloodthirsty tributes who had appeared in the Hunger Games over the years had come from District 2. Tributes like Enobaria. Not only was she lethal with a variety of weapons, she also excelled at hand-to-hand fighting and could deliver a pretty nasty bite. Even her district partner, a powerful youth named Sulla who was highly skilled with a sword, seemed harmless next to her.

Needless to say, Enobaria was in the thick of the fighting at the bloodbath, taking out three of the nine tributes who fell that year. And, just for good measure, she gave the girl from District 5 a wound which would almost certainly prove fatal in the next few days. In the meantime, Enobaria and her fellow Careers withdrew from the Cornucopia and listened as nine cannon shots echoed across the arena, each representing one of the tributes they had killed. And, as night fell, the six of them gathered to watch the death recap.

Looking at the sky, Enobaria saw the faces of those she and her fellow Careers had murdered earlier in the day. First came the two tributes from District 3; the girl, Astra, was one of the tributes Enobaria had killed. Next came the boy from 5 (another of Enobaria's victims) followed by the boy from 6, both from 7, the girl from 9 (Enobaria's third victim) and both from 10. As the recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, Enobaria recalled how, during her fight with the District 9 girl (a pretty fourteen-year-old named Tammy) she had bitten the latter's cheek until she drew blood.

That wound, of course, had not been fatal; Tammy had died because Enobaria slit her throat. But Enobaria had done something no other tribute had ever done in the history of the Hunger Games. She had turned her own teeth into a weapon and, before these Games were through, that weapon would prove lethal.


	62. The Sixty-third Games

**The Sixty-third Games**

_Cecelia: District 8_

Growing up in a district dominated by textile factories did little to prepare you for the arena. As a result, District 8 tributes tended to fare poorly in the Games; even those who survived the bloodbath were generally dead within a few days. Cecelia was well aware of this as she fled the Cornucopia, clutching the small pack she'd managed to grab as though it was a lifeline, thinking only of the need to get away before the cannons started firing. When that happened, it would mean the bloodbath was over and the survivors were on the move.

Cecelia heard the first shot just as she reached the edge of the woods. Six more shots followed, meaning seven tributes had died in the bloodbath. But which seven? She had no way of knowing until tonight, but she hoped her district partner, Tuck, was not among them; he was only twelve but looked even younger. So much so that, when Cecelia saw him lining up for the reaping, she thought at first that an eight- or nine-year-old kid had ended up behind the ropes by mistake. But the Peacekeepers did not make mistakes like that when it came to the reaping.

As night fell, Cecelia watched as the Capitol seal was projected into the sky, followed by the faces of the seven dead tributes. The boy from District 3 appeared first, followed by the girl from 6, then both from 7. Cecelia crossed her fingers and hoped that the next dead tribute was not Tuck, but it proved to be the girl from District 10, a freckle-faced fourteen-year-old named Petunia. Then both from 12 and the recap was over.

As the seal faded, Cecelia was relieved that Tuck was alive, at least for the time being. But these were the Hunger Games and he probably wouldn't last much longer; very young tributes rarely did. Cecelia wished she could save Tuck from whatever fate awaited him, but she knew it was impossible.


	63. The Sixty-fourth Games

**The Sixty-fourth Games**

_Anthea: District 5_

In most years, the Gamemakers provided the tributes with a wide variety of weapons, but it appeared they had not done so this year. Looking at the Cornucopia, Anthea could see several spiked maces - and no other weapons whatsoever, not even a hunting knife. She was just debating whether she should go for one of the maces, which would at least give her a fighting chance, when there was a sudden explosion.

Mollie, the girl from District 11, had dropped the wooden ball that was her token, triggering the landmines around her plate. Bits of her were now scattered over the ground, but Anthea barely had time to swallow her disgust before the gong sounded, releasing the remaining twenty-three tributes. Anthea managed to grab one of the backpacks but decided it would be too risky to try for a mace; the Careers were already converging on the Cornucopia. Instead, she hoisted her pack onto her back and fled as fast as she could.

Including Mollie, ten tributes died in the bloodbath and, as the sun set, Anthea watched their faces appear in the sky. The girl from District 3 was first, then the boy from 6, which meant Anthea's district partner, Josh, had survived. Both tributes from District 7 followed, then the boy from 8, the girl from 9, both from 10 . . . Then, Mollie appeared, eliminated before the Games even got under way; it was only the second time a tribute had been killed by the mines at the Cornucopia. Last of all came the boy from 12, after which the death recap was over for another night.

As the seal faded, Anthea considered her position. She had been through her pack while it was still light enough to see and knew its contents included a length of rope just long enough to strangle people. Not that she wanted to do that, but this was a situation where there were only two choices: kill or be killed.


	64. The Sixty-fifth Games

**The Sixty-fifth Games**

_Finnick: District 4_

Statistically, the odds had never been in favour of the younger tributes. In the history of the Hunger Games, there had never been a twelve- or thirteen-year-old victor and, by the Sixty-fifth Games, only three victors had won their Games at the age of fourteen. So, when Finnick first appeared on Panem's television screens at the District 4 reaping, few guessed he would go on to become one of the most famous victors in the history of the Games.

But all that was in the future. First, Finnick had to get through the bloodbath, though the fact he came from a Career district increased his chances of surviving. And, when the gong sounded, he didn't hesitate; he ran straight for the golden horn, armed himself with spears and knives, then joined his district partner, Galatea, as she fought to get clear. This year, instead of joining the main Career pack as they usually did, the District 4 tributes had chosen to work independently. So Galatea and Finnick escaped as quickly as they could, rather than wait for the other Careers.

Ten tributes died in the bloodbath and, that evening, Finnick sat with Galatea, watching as the faces of the dead appeared in the sky. He saw the boy from District 3, followed by the girls from 6 and 7, both from 8, the boy from 9, both from 10, the girl from 11 and the boy from 12. Between them, Finnick and Galatea had killed three out of the ten; Finnick had taken out the boy from District 8, while Galatea had dealt with the girls from 6 and 10.

However, young as he was - and Galatea was less than a year older - Finnick knew he could not let the fact that he had killed someone bother him. These were the Hunger Games and there was a strong possibility he might have to kill again before he was through here. He told himself to think of his opponents as fish to be netted.


	65. The Sixty-sixth Games

**The Sixty-sixth Games**

_Laurel: District 2_

The arena for the Sixty-sixth Hunger Games was a frozen tundra, with no sign of any forests that could provide a source of firewood. As she emerged from her tube, Laurel shivered as the cold air hit her, but she quickly controlled herself; she was from District 2 and tributes from her district were supposed to be the toughest in the Games. She could not let a little cold bother her. Even so, the minute she had to stay on her plate felt like the longest of her life. She could see some of her fellow tributes hugging themselves and jumping up and down in an attempt to keep warm.

Perhaps it was the cold slowing down their reactions, but, when the gong sounded, many tributes did not move right away. Even so, the bloodbath was as brutal and violent as usual, ending with the deaths of nine tributes. Laurel had speared two of them herself and, once the survivors were out of sight, she and her fellow Careers withdrew and listened as the cannons sounded nine times.

That evening, Laurel watched the sky as the faces of the nine dead tributes appeared. The boy from District 3 was shown first, followed by both from 6, then the girl from 7; the latter was one of those Laurel had killed. The girl from District 8, a quiet fourteen-year-old named Monica, was next, then both from 9. The boy from District 10 (whom Laurel had also killed) appeared, before the recap ended with the girl from 12, who had fallen to Laurel's district partner, Nero.

Laurel knew this year was going to be tough. Not only had the Gamemakers thrown everyone into an arena with no wood for fuel, they hadn't even provided any matches or other fire-making items in the backpacks. And that, she realised as she and her fellow Careers huddled together in an attempt to keep warm, meant a number of the deaths this year would be as a result of the cold.


	66. The Sixty-seventh Games

**The Sixty-seventh Games**

_Clyde: District 6_

It had been a long time since a tribute from District 6 won the Hunger Games. Nearly thirty years, in fact; since then, no-one from that district had gone further than the final five. Clyde, standing on his plate as he waited for the gong to sound, wondered if the local industry might be part of the problem. District 6's industry was transport, but knowing how to build and maintain vehicles and roads wasn't much use in the arena. Not only that, he'd achieved the lowest training score of all the tributes, just three points; that meant he had probably blown any chances of sponsorship.

Sensing he had nothing to lose, Clyde ran towards the Cornucopia as soon as the gong sounded. He grabbed the first weapon he came to (a spiked mace) followed by a backpack and prepared to make his escape. As he did so, he found the girl from District 3 blocking his path and reacted instinctively, smashing his mace into her skull. As Clyde fled from the Cornucopia, the tributes from District 1 finished off the girl he had felled. In total, eleven tributes died in the bloodbath; Clyde heard the cannons some time in the early afternoon.

That evening, he made camp and watched as the fallen tributes appeared in the sky. First came both from District 3; Clyde recognised the girl who had tried to stop him escaping. The girl from 5 was next, then the boy from 7, which meant Clyde's district partner, Verity, had survived. They were followed in turn by both tributes from 8, the girl from 9, both from 10 and the boys from 11 and 12. As the recap ended, Clyde found himself thinking about the girl from District 3.

He didn't know her name, but he was partly responsible for her death. He had only been in the arena a few hours and already one tribute was dead because of him. And he sensed that she wouldn't be the last.


	67. The Sixty-eighth Games

**The Sixty-eighth Games**

_Johanna: District 7_

Her plan was simple but devious. Convince her fellow tributes that she was no threat to them, then reveal her true fighting skills once only a handful of players remained. To that end, Johanna spent the whole of the training period acting like the frightened, incompetent little girl she was not; she even deliberately botched the axe-throwing demonstration she gave in her private session, so that the Gamemakers would give her a low score.

When it came to the bloodbath, Johanna forced herself to ignore the axes she could see among the weapons in the Cornucopia and instead grabbed a knife, which was easier to hide. Snatching up one of the smaller backpacks, she began to run, even though she was itching to get involved in the battle. But, if she did that, she would blow her strategy. So she fled, acting as though she wanted to get as far from the other tributes as possible.

Presently, Johanna heard the cannons begin to fire; she counted nine shots before they stopped. That evening, she watched the sky as the dead tributes appeared, starting with the boy from District 3. Next came both tributes from 5, followed by Johanna's own district partner, Matt; Johanna hardly knew him, but she buried her face in her hands, acting as though she was grief-stricken by his death. While she was "weeping" for Matt, the remaining dead tributes appeared. Both from 8, the girl from 9 and both from 11, after which the seal reappeared for the end of the recap.

Johanna knew she had to be careful how she played her "weakling" strategy. If she acted too weak, it might prompt some of the other tributes to attack her, not to mention discouraging sponsors. But, if she could stay alive until only a few tributes remained, her opponents were in for a nasty surprise. She would show the whole of Panem just how weak she was.


	68. The Sixty-ninth Games

**The Sixty-ninth Games**

_Corvus: District 2_

As he waited for the countdown to end, Corvus took the opportunity to size up his fellow tributes. Apart from his fellow Careers, most of them looked like they wouldn't pose much competition. The exception was the boy from District 6 (Corvus had heard the District 6 girl, Ryde, call him Titus during training) who had a rough look about him. He looked like one of those tributes who could be overwhelmed by bloodlust; Corvus had seen it happen before.

When the gong sounded, Corvus and his fellow Careers ran straight towards the Cornucopia, armed themselves and prepared to attack their fellow tributes. Corvus, armed with a sword, managed to wound Titus, but not badly enough to stop the District 6 boy from escaping. Even so, by the time the fighting was over, eight tributes were dead, leaving sixteen still in the Games. The Careers withdrew and listened as eight cannon blasts were fired, one for each dead tribute.

That evening, Corvus watched along with his fellow Careers as the fallen tributes appeared in the sky, starting with both from District 3. Next came the girl from 5 (a thirteen-year-old named Vanessa), followed by the boys from 7 and 8, the girl from 9 and both from 10. Corvus had killed two of them (the boys from 3 and 7) himself, running them through with his sword. But, as the death recap ended and the seal faded from the sky, his thoughts turned to Titus, the tribute he had failed to kill.

He couldn't explain it, but Corvus sensed that Titus could be one of the most dangerous tributes in the arena this year. Not only was he the most powerful tribute outside the Career pack, Corvus had a feeling he was already a little unstable. Being in the arena could unhinge Titus to the point where he completely forgot that his opponents were human beings - and there was no telling where that might lead.


	69. The Seventieth Games

**The Seventieth Games**

_Annie: District 4_

Standing on her plate, Annie took in her surroundings. Directly across from her, she could see a dam which looked as though it was holding back a large quantity of water. The rest of the arena was on a floodplain, so, if that dam burst, most of the tributes would be in serious trouble. Coming from District 4, Annie and her district partner, Reef, had learned to swim before they could walk, but many of the others had never had the opportunity.

Annie and Reef had chosen not to ally with the tributes from Districts 1 and 2. So, when the gong sounded, they simply grabbed what they could from the Cornucopia, then fled before the bloodbath could get under way. They had just reached a stand of trees when the first cannon shot sounded, followed by nine more. That, Annie knew, meant ten of her fellow tributes were already dead. But she and Reef kept moving; there was no telling where the other survivors were.

That evening, Annie sat with Reef and watched as the tributes who had died in the bloodbath appeared in the sky. She saw the girl from District 3, a dark-haired sixteen-year-old named Lucy. Next came both tributes from 5, followed by the boy from 6, the girl from 7, both from 8, the boy from 11 and both from 12. The last two had been typical of their district: scrawny, underfed, the children of coal-miners. Annie suspected that, if they hadn't fallen in the bloodbath, they would have been gone within a couple of days anyway.

As the seal faded from the sky, she turned to Reef. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, not that Annie gave his looks much thought; she already had her eye on someone, someone who was currently in the Games Headquarters with the rest of the mentors. But it was Reef who was her partner and she hoped the two of them would be able to keep each other alive, at least for a while.


	70. The Seventy-first Games

**The Seventy-first Games**

_Trajan: District 2_

With their warrior mindset, it was perhaps not surprising that District 2 had produced more victors than any other district. All but one of the houses in their Victor's Village were currently in use and there was talk of extending the Village to accommodate future victors. In the meantime, however, there was still one unoccupied house and, if Trajan outlived all his fellow tributes, it would be his.

District 2 tributes were generally in the thick of the fighting at the Cornucopia and Trajan was no exception. Armed with a spear, he killed three out of the ten tributes who fell in the bloodbath, impaling them as casually as if they were Training Centre dummies. Once the survivors had fled, the Careers withdrew and listened as the cannons sounded ten times. Almost immediately, an argument broke out between Trajan's district partner, Rosamund, and the District 1 girl, Velvet, over which of them had killed a particular tribute. But Beau, the boy from District 1, quickly silenced them.

That evening, Trajan watched the death recap with his fellow Careers. The boy from District 3, one of his victims, appeared first, followed by the girl from 5, then both from 7; he had killed the District 7 boy as well. Next came the girl from 8, the tribute Velvet and Rosamund had argued over, followed by Trajan's third victim, the boy from 9. Both tributes from 10 appeared, then the girl from 11 and the boy from 12. As the recap ended and the Capitol seal faded, Trajan's thoughts turned to Velvet and Rosamund.

There was no love lost between them; they had even tried to fight each other at the Training Centre despite being forbidden to do so. Trajan knew it was only a question of time before one of them took the other out, not that it bothered him. Every dead tribute meant one less obstacle between himself and victory.


	71. The Seventy-second Games

**The Seventy-second Games**

_Varnish: District 1_

The arena for the Seventy-second Hunger Games took the form of a U-shaped valley, with the Cornucopia at the bottom of one of the slopes. As he waited for the countdown to end, Varnish took in his surroundings, taking particular notice of the nearby river. That could be the main source of water in the arena; if he and his fellow Careers could secure it, they would have the other tributes exactly where they wanted them.

It was just as Varnish was mentally debating the best place to lay an ambush that the gong sounded. Immediately, he switched into battle mode, jumping off his plate and sprinting towards the piles of weapons and supplies; seconds later, he was armed with a mace and poised to attack. Between them, Varnish and his fellow Careers killed eight of their fellow tributes, leaving ten to flee from the Cornucopia. They, however, would be dealt with in time.

As the sun set, Varnish watched along with his fellow Careers as the eight dead tributes appeared in the sky. The girl from District 5 was first; Varnish had bashed her skull in with his mace, not that he was about to let that bother him. Next came both from District 7, followed by the boys from 8 and 9, both from 11 and the girl from 12. The latter, a fair-haired thirteen-year-old named Flynn, had been speared by Varnish's district partner, Splendid. As the recap ended, Varnish gave no thought to the dead tributes, except to think that none of them had been much competition anyway.

It was too bad about the younger tributes like Flynn and the District 8 boy, who had not looked much more than twelve years old. But these were the Hunger Games, a contest which only one tribute could win - and it was almost always the strongest tributes who came out on top. And Varnish meant to get out of this arena alive, no matter who he had to kill.


	72. The Seventy-third Games

**The Seventy-third Games**

_Thelma: District 5_

Though no-one knew it at the time, the Seventy-third Hunger Games would prove to be the last in which a single tribute survived while twenty-three others died. Thelma, standing on her plate at the Cornucopia, certainly didn't realise it. In fact, she didn't even know if she would still be alive by evening. This year's Career pack looked like a tough bunch and she thought she would do well to avoid them if she was to stay alive.

The bloodbath proved to be an especially brutal one. Thelma, who was one of the fastest runners in District 5, managed to escape from the Cornucopia with a medium-sized backpack and a fine hunting knife. But twelve of her fellow tributes were not so lucky; ten were killed in the bloodbath itself, while two (including Thelma's district partner, Kane) received wounds which would ultimately prove fatal.

That evening, Thelma sat looking up at the sky as the Capitol seal appeared, followed by the faces of the dead tributes. She saw the boy from District 3, followed by both tributes from 6, the girl from 7, both from 8, the girl from 9, the boy from 10 and both from 11. As each face appeared, Thelma ticked them off on her fingers, not allowing herself to think about the fact that the kids she could see in the sky were dead, killed in a sadistic contest devised to punish the districts.

As the death recap ended, Thelma considered her options. She had her knife, but that would offer her little protection if she came up against the Careers and their superior weapons, so she would have to rely on her speed to keep herself out of trouble. Her best hope might be to devise some sort of trap, such as the one which left an opponent dangling from a tree by their ankles. If she could do that and her victim lost their weapons as a result, it would be easy to slit that tribute's throat.


End file.
